Artemis Fowl 1: The Fic Still In Need of a Name
by TeenTypist
Summary: Holly's got a new assignment she's not too crazy about. And somebody actually managed to break in to the Fowl manner, I'll give you one guess as to who it is. My first AF fic. No EC or OD spoilers. Complete.
1. New Assignment

The Captain stood in the Commander's office, fuming, not quite silently. In fact, Captain Short not very silent at all after hearing the assignment.  
"With all due respect I am not doing it, sir."  
"These are your orders, Captain!" the Commander barked.  
"Commander, I'm a Reconnaissance officer, not a babysitter. I am a professional. You and I both know the Council just wants me put out of the way and that's all there is to it."  
"Can you blame them on that, Short? Be happy you're not behind a desk! Besides, I'm sure they think you're the best man, er, woman for the job."  
"Sir, if they were looking for a Recon officer, then I was the only woman for the job." Captain Holly Short tried to keep her voice level but was failing at it.  
"Be that as it may, you are responsible for Ambassador's son from the moment he steps off that shuttle until he leaves," Root's face was taking on a hue deeper than it's usual ruddy color. As his face reddened it was obvious how he'd gotten the nickname Beetroot.  
"Yessir," she sighed. She took a chance. "Couldn't you at least ask if they'd put that bimbo Corporal Frond on the case? She doesn't do anything for the LEP except camera work anyway."  
It was Root's turn to sigh. "Holly, I almost asked. I really did, but do you want her on the job? Holly, I know neither of the Artemis Fowl incidents were your fault but bear with the Council on this," Commander Root told her.  
Holly wanted to protest that Trouble Kelp or one of the other officers be put in charge of the ambassador's son but she knew better than to argue further. She wouldn't even mention that she was an awful babysitter. She really was no good with children. Holly instead gave a resigned "Yessir," and left Commander Root's office hoping that a bath in her steaming slime pool would be enough to relax her.  
  
Artemis Fowl was finishing plotting how to topple some major corporation or other and his mobile phone rang. The line was a secure, coded line. Only his bodyguard had the number.  
"Yes, Butler?" he asked curtly, irritated at the distraction.  
"Sir, there's been a robbery and I think you should come check out the scene."  
Already this would seem an odd conversation to most people. A full grown man with incredible muscle power and nearly seven feet in height was calling a 14 year old boy "sir" and consulting him on a robbery.  
"Where was the theft?"  
"The Manor."  
"A security breach at the manor? We shall have to remedy this immediately. Where are you?"  
"Ten minutes from the school gates."  
"Good man." Artemis folded the phone into its wallet and was soon standing outside the gates of Saint Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen. Butler pulled up in a red Bentley and Artemis climbed in.  
"I assume the visitors were one of our old friends. Mulch Diggums is the most likely suspect if, as I believe is true, he entered from the wine cellar. He is the only fairy alive who would break into a human dwelling."  
Master Artemis Fowl was extremely bright, in fact he was a genius with the highest tested IQ in Europe.  
"Yes, he left this behind in the safe under the stairs." Butler extracted a dark piece of hair crinkled like metal, like a key.  
Artemis chuckled, a sound that would make some people recoil. "Excellent. I knew it was only a matter of time before we crossed paths again. Is my father still out of town?"  
"Yes, settling something in Spain."  
"Good. What about Mother and Juliet?"  
"They are attending a fashion show in Italy."  
"This is most advantageous."  
Butler used a right-handed turn as an excuse to glance at his employer. If it hadn't been that it was Artemis he was looking at, he could have sworn no fourteen-year-old boy could have that much thought etched in that face or such a spark in his eye. He was plotting something and the odds were, it wouldn't be legal.  
  
Holly was in the Operations room at the Police Plaza and she was running out of patience. "Foaly, get serious!" Holly told the centaur, her hand strayed toward her buzz baton.  
"Alright, Holly. Don't get your ears in a knot."  
"What have you got for me for this mission? The shuttle is going to be here soon and I can't be late. I don't need the Council to have something else to throw at me."  
"I'm not exactly high on their list either, they just can't get rid of me. I can't give you much on a job like this. It's got to look as if the Haven is safe and you're only around because the kid can't cross the street alone." The centaur snickered. "All I can give you is the newest model Neutrino blaster, your good old buzz baton, and a locator for the kid."  
"A locator?"  
"In case you lose the little tyke."  
"I'm not going to lose him, Foaly. Is this everything?"  
"No, take this." Foaly tossed Holly a book.  
She looked at the cover. The title read A Babysitter's Guide for Survival. "Very funny, Foaly." There was no humor in her voice. She rattled off a few empty threats before leaving. She knew the threats were empty, just as Foaly knew they were empty.  
Foaly snorted as Holly left. The LEP couldn't replace him. He'd rigged up a lot of the communications, recent shuttle technology, a lot of LEP weaponry, and was the main reason the Mud Men above ground didn't know about the existence of the People. He had also rid the LEP of the bugs placed in the systems and equipment by Opal Koboi. He not only shouldn't and couldn't be replaced; he wouldn't be replaced. If anyone else tried to boot up the system, a virus would destroy everything.  
  
At seven o'clock Holly was at the docking bay when the Ambassador's new shuttle arrived. The Ambassador wasn't particularly happy with Commander Root. He and Holly had borrowed his previous shuttle to take it on a little trip to the Artic the year before and it hadn't been returned; even if they had returned it would have been in less than mint condition. It now sat beneath Koboi Labs and it was going to stay there.  
The Ambassador stepped off the shuttle with his son and his escort fairies. Holly approached the Ambassador.  
"Sir, I am Captain Short. I will be responsible for the well-being of your son during your stay here."  
"Thank you, Captain."  
"Sir, where would you like your son escorted?"  
The Ambassador turned to his son. The boy couldn't have been more than ten or so, that's young, especially for a fairy, Holly herself was only in her early eighties. "Where do you want to go?"  
"I wanna see the crazy centaur."  
"Sir, is it alright if I take him to the Police Plaza as he requests?"  
"Just bring him to the restaurant at 8 o'clock."  
  
Holly sighed. Aquarius didn't seem like a bad little chap, but he did talk an awful lot.  
  
"When do I get to see the crazy centaur?"  
"Soon."  
"Does he still wear a metal hat?"  
For as long as Holly could remember, Foaly had worn a tinfoil cap to keep the Mud Men satellites from reading his mind. He had discarded the hat in disgust when Opal Koboi and Briar Cudgeon had outsmarted him and used his own paranoid security standards to lock him in his own operations booth the year before. Obviously his tin bonnet hadn't done much good. "No, he doesn't wear it anymore."  
"Is the Commander's face still purple?"  
"Most of the time."  
So the questions went on. At one point Holly put her hand on Aquarius's shoulder to keep him from crossing the street and she slipped the tracking device inside the collar of his jacket. She wasn't taking any chances.  
Foaly grinned at Holly as she entered the Ops room in the Police Plaza. She frowned. Aquarius on the other hand had a wonderful time wandering around the Ops room and saying things to Foaly and Holly. When it was time to leave Foaly made a snide parting comment and Holly smacked her old friend once with the buzz baton, she used a low setting, but not so low as that it didn't smart.  
When they had left headquarters and were crossing the street, Holly lost sight of her charge. "Aquarius? Aquarius, where'd you go?" She searched frantically. He was gone. "Oh no!" How could he disappear so quickly and so completely? She searched for another ten minutes, shoving her way through the crowd. She then made her way back to the Police Plaza. She entered the Ops room.  
Foaly looked up from where he was typing and asked good-naturedly, "Where is he? Did you lose him already?"  
"Not exactly. I just don't know where he is."  
Foaly allowed himself a smug grin as he ran the scan on the computer for the tracking device inside the collar. "He is heading north on the main street."  
Holly stared at the dot moving across the screen. "I'm on it."  
Foaly tossed Holly's helmet to her, "Keep in touch this time, turn on the com-link and the camera."  
"Got it." Soon Holly was back on the streets moving as quickly as possible. "Where is he headed now?"  
"He seems to have stopped moving."  
"Great, where is he?"  
"Outside Spud's Spud Emporium."  
Spud's Spud Emporium had food that usually made you nauseous, why anyone would ever go there was beyond reasoning. When she reached Spud's she still couldn't find him. "Where is he?" muttered Holly.  
Suddenly she heard a sharp voice her ear. "Captain Short!"  
"Yessir, Commander?"  
"Have you retrieved the boy?"  
"Not yet, sir. The computer showed he was here but I don't see him anywhere."  
"The computer still says he's there so keep looking!"  
"Yes, Commander." She scanned the place again. "I still don't see him," she muttered.  
"What was that, Holly? The computer says he just left. I'm going to transfer the locator's progress on the map of the city to your helmet." came Foaly's voice.  
"Affirmative. How long to upload it to the helmet?"  
"Two minutes."  
She approached the sprite at the counter. "Excuse me. Have you seen an Antlantean boy in here? It would have been a couple minutes ago. He's only 10. This tall," she lifted one hand to the appropriate height. "And he was wearing a blue hydro-circulating coil jacket."  
"Hey good lookin'."  
"Look you conceited sprite, I haven't got time for this. Have you seen him or not?"  
"I seen 'im. He left with a couple chaps not a long while back."  
"Where did they go?"  
"I dunno. But what do you say to you an' me goin' somewhere when I get off my shift?"  
"No. Which way did they go?"  
"Down that street," he said sullenly.  
Holly left abruptly. "Now what?" she muttered.  
"What was that, Holly?" asked Foaly.  
"Nothing, where's that map you promised?"  
"Another ten seconds should do it."  
As Holly moved further down the crowded street passing elves, dwarves, and wide bottomed gnomes, Holly got the sensation that there was trouble somewhere else.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, Aquarius chattered happily to the two fairies escorting him to one of the chutes. He didn't notice the large guns they were wearing. 


	2. Undercover

Artemis kneeled down in the wine cellar near a leaky vat and a mound of loose earth. His smile was vampire-like as he said softly, "So, it was Mister Diggums. He is the only one with no regard for fairy law, after all. Where did he strike? The stairs." He stepped lightly up the creaking staircase back to the main floor and Butler followed making no more noise than a panther.  
Artemis examined hidden safe beneath a large staircase of ornately carved wood. Hidden in the paneling was a micro-keyhole no larger than a speck of dirt. The vault could have only been opened with the combination or with one of Mulch's dwarf hairs. Well, he thought, I should have updated all the vaults last year after that whole affair in the Artic; I knew Mulch could bypass my security. "It's my own fault for not improving the security last year. What did he take?"  
"Mister Diggums took the watch your Father left you the day he left for Russia three years ago. He also took the LEP helmet and both bars of gold that were here but he let be your copy of the Book that is in here."  
Artemis was not a very emotional boy and he never felt very sentimental toward too many things, he valued his mobile phone and laptop certainly, but he wasn't emotionally attached to either. But the watch was another story, only the barest hint of feeling crept into his voice, "We'll have to recover that, I've been meaning to have a little talk with the hairy thief anyway." Artemis continued, "No matter. I have other LEP helmets and I suppose I can stand to lose two small bars of gold. No other rooms were touched?"  
"I checked every room, safe, and vault myself. Nothing else was touched but he set off the alarm in the upstairs study before leaving."  
"He's a professional, I doubt that was an accident. He didn't take the Book so he wasn't working for the LEP. This was a solo job. Now, he wouldn't have gone back to the United States because he did after all make national news there and he's far too recognizable." He turned sharply to face Butler. "Get together some gear. We're going on a trip."  
  
Holly followed the dot on her screen all the way to chute E1. It was just Holly's luck that Aquarius and an ugly dwarf (though it is rare to find any handsome one this one was particularly gruesome) disappeared into the pod. His accomplice, a short looking elf, began to charge at Holly.  
"Are you getting this on screen?" she asked.  
The response was the affirmative and it was more than just the voices of Foaly and Commander Root. Holly barely heard them though because it was at that moment that the pod closed and she knew that if she did not get out of the launch zone she would be trapped inside and baked by the dry heat that would soon come rolling into the space. She had narrowly avoided that experience once and she wasn't going to take that chance again.  
The blast doors that were about to shut were six feet thick. Holly rolled out of the way. If it had only been that the dwarf had left with her charge and that there was an elf chasing her it wouldn't have been so bad. That is when Holly stood up from her roll and felt the tip of a weapon against her back. A reptilian voice whispered, "Don't move, elf girl."  
  
Holly raked her brain for information; the wrong move could cost her life. In 2.3 seconds she had decided her course. She waited another ten crucial seconds, knowing she could catch the goblin off his guard. But even perfect plans don't always work. Just before she was about to do a quick turn and relieve the goblin of his weapon, he fired it. Before unconsciousness completely engulfed her, she heard the goblin tell his companion, in his reptilian voice, "Go! The LEP are coming! I hear them. I'll dispose of this one."  
  
Artemis was in the study checking his e-mail on one of his various computers. The message read:  
  
BSon, I'm meeting your mother in Milan in two days. When we get back to Dublin there will be a Fowl family reunion. I will be speaking to your Dean immediately and getting you pulled out of school to assist Butler with the preparations. Goodbye. /B  
  
What followed this were three pages worth of preparations to be made, food and such to be order among other things. "This is superb. Butler, come read this. We needn't discuss a thing with the Headmaster after all. My father's taken care of it for us." Artemis printed the e-mail giving the instructions a cursory reading before handing them to Butler.  
  
Holly tried to sit up and was restrained by the hands of at least two medi- warlocks.  
"Stay down, Captain."  
"That's right, miss. We just healed some fractured bones in your spine and you need to be still at least another ten minutes. Don't move."  
"What happened?" asked Holly.  
"You'll have to talk to Foaly or the Commander. They seem to be running the show. I think they were getting video feed."  
"What about the goblin?"  
"Look, Captain, we don't know anything. You'll have to wait and talk to the commander in 8 minutes."  
Holly tried to turn her neck but it was sore. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Root pacing and glaring. Things were not good. Holly began to count the seconds. "Time's up." She struggled into a sitting position and when she stood up Root was standing in front of her.  
Concern flickered in his eyes before the hard expression and ferocity returned. "Are you okay, Captain?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Then tell me what the happened!"  
"As you know I got separated from Aquarius and then we traced him to E1. A dwarf left in the pod with Aquarius and-"  
"Two people in a pod?" The Commander rounded on the centaur. "Foaly, can't the pods only handle one person a piece?"  
"Yes, but if the readings are right that was an extremely large flare, Aquarius isn't very large, and they didn't think there was any better choice."  
"Continue, Captain."  
"The dwarf's accomplice, an elf named Cronus, came at me but then some goblin came from behind and got me with a weapon. I'm not sure what it was. It reminded me of one of the weapons that came out of Koboi Labs. Did we apprehend either of them?"  
"We missed the elf."  
"So the goblin's here?"  
"Don't say a word, Holly. He's an LEP undercover officer."  
"A goblin as an officer? Sir, what about the goblin uprising last year?"  
Root grimaced. "This one hasn't been in a single gang, let alone the B'wa Kell. He's never done anything worse than petty theft, and he agreed to be on video feed through an iris-cam twenty-four/seven and he invited us to tag him in case we ever suspect him of anything illegal. He's working for us now so get used to it."  
  
"Sir, he shot me and now he's working for us?"  
  
Foaly stepped in, "Actually he was working for us before he shot you."  
"Why didn't anyone tell me any of this?"  
Root took out of his trademark, noxious, fungal cigars before replying. "Because, Holly, we knew this is how you would react. Now, I admit that goblins aren't all that bright-"  
Holly snorted.  
Foaly grinned, "It's scientifically proven goblins don't have the cranial capacity."  
Root scowled, his fingers drumming a tattoo on the blaster at his hip. "Foaly, shut-up or I'll tan your hide with this blaster. We knew that when you lost Aquarius these guys would be after him. When the boy was taken our goal was to have the goblin get Aquarius and then Captain Kelp and his squad would come and get the other two."  
"You had Retrieval on my heels? Why didn't anyone tell me? Commander, you knew I'd lose Aquarius?"  
"Let's face it, Holly: you aren't the best babysitter. I heard about the time you watching Captain Kelp's brother Grub when he was Aquarius's age. You let him swallow a swear toad and his head got stuck in the stairs. And yes we did have Retrieval following you. As I said before, we knew how you'd react if you found out about any of this."  
"And was I supposed to get shot in the bargain?" demanded Holly, her temper and voice rising.  
"No, that wasn't in the plan. We didn't want you hurt."  
"You're sounding like Fowl."  
"Captain! Do not compare me to that Mud Boy. Go home, you obviously need rest."  
Holly consented but she knew this would under no circumstances be the end of that discussion.  
When Holly was out of sight, Foaly remarked. "She is right you know. You did sound like Fowl."  
"Leave me alone or you're fired, Foaly," grunted Root, taking his cigar and leaving.  
Foaly grinned smugly at Root's retreating back, "That's because you know I'm right." Mouthing off to the commander was one of the perks of his job.  
  
Holly went home and after throwing off her jumpsuit and helmet she settled down for a nice, hot bath in the slime pool. Her muscles relaxed and it felt as though she were in heaven. 


	3. Roadtrip and Some Quality Time in the Op...

When all preparations for the Fowl reunion had been called in, Artemis and Butler continued the necessary preparations for their little trip.  
"Artemis, do you think we should bring any fairy weapons?" Butler asked as he stuck throwing knives in his boots.  
Artemis smiled; Butler was smarter than he looked. "Of course. A helmet a piece, a blaster, and a baton."  
Butler nodded. He knew where to find them.  
  
Mulch wasn't exactly sure where he was going. After the business with Koboi Labs he had spent time in various places in the Lower Elements but after having lived several months in Los Angeles the year before he began to miss the surface. He knew he couldn't go back to back to the U.S. or use his old alias of Lance Digger. He'd made headlines coast to coast by stealing an entire collection of Oscars. But now he was back to the surface again. Where to go? He spent a few weeks in Paris and then he found himself heading in the direction of Ireland. He couldn't resist a stop in one of the best-guarded homes owned by a certain Mud Boy he knew. Now, however, he was on his way to Wales. He knew the Mud Boy and his Man Mountain would be after him.  
  
Holly was at the Police Plaza early the next morning. She needed to talk to Foaly.  
"So how long did you know about that goblin yesterday?"  
"Oh, he's been working for us about two months. Here, take a look at this monitor."  
Holly stepped up and looked. It seemed to be some sort of back alleyway. And sitting on a chair eating Squid Snaps was-  
"Aquarius! If he's there, then why isn't Retrieval?"  
"Take a look at that alley. Pretty nondescript. We don't know where it is."  
"What about the tracer I put on him?"  
"The dwarf found it when they were in the chute. Destroyed it."  
"I still don't think we should trust a goblin."  
"Hey, neither do I, but nobody ever listens to me. Do you recognize any of these guys?" He started typing and soon close up appeared of the dwarf who captured Aquarius and the elf who had been there as well.  
Holly grimaced. "I don't know the dwarf but the elf is named Cronus. He was on the crunchball squad when I was in school. Wanted to join the LEP but he had a record of violence, a bad temper, and hanging out with the wrong sort of people. Part of his problem was also always so insecure about his height. Notice he's only 2 feet 6 inches?" The average elf height was 3 feet 1 cm, Holly was just short the one-centimeter.  
"The dwarf's name is Peteris. Not the most genial of fellows. He was thrown out of the Brotherhood."  
  
"What about our goblin friend? How did he end up with Cronus and Peteris in the first place?"  
"Still working on that."  
"Has Root caught Mulch?"  
"Not yet. You know Diggums is slippery and Julius has got bigger fish to fry right now, the Ambassador saw the whole scene yesterday from the Ops room."  
"Oh."  
Foaly checked his moonometer. "Aren't you late for work?"  
Holly swore, "D'Arvit!" she exited hoping she could sneak in before Root realized she was late. She made her way as quickly as possible to Root's office. He wouldn't be happy.  
  
Artemis thought over the stash of weapons while eating caviar in the Bentley. As well as the fairy weaponry, Butler had (concealed in various places and weapon holsters) a Sig Sauer, a dart rifle custom designed for an ivory hunter in Africa, Shrike throwing- knife, and a cosh. Of course, Butler didn't need any of these weapons to kill or incapacitate anyone. He knew over a hundred ways to kill people with nothing but his bare hands.  
After doing his customary bomb search under and around the car, Butler sat down in the driver's seat. He cast a quick glance at Artemis. "Where exactly are we going?"  
"Don't you know? We're going to Tara. E1. You know the place."  
Butler knew. He'd already guessed the destination before his question had been answered.  
Artemis settled back to work on his plan. How to get his hands on Mulch Diggums... 


	4. MIA

When Holly got to Commander Root's office, Root wasn't in there. Instead, sitting behind the desk was-  
"Trouble? What are you doing here?" Holly realized she would not be receiving a reprimand and she leaned casually against the door.  
"Hi, Holly. Didn't you hear?"  
"Hear what?"  
"Root didn't come in today."  
"Root didn't come in? He hasn't missed a day of work in decades, well except for the Artic thing last year."  
"I know. They say, other than that, last time he missed work was his mother's funeral and I think that was ninety years ago."  
"So what are you doing behind his desk?"  
"You're even further behind than I thought. The Council was talking about moving either you or me up to Lieutenant Colonel. I got here first today so for the time being they stuck me behind the desk to fill in for Root."  
Trouble Kelp, famous for choosing the name "Trouble" at his manhood ceremony was probably LEP's most gung-ho officer. The thought him behind a desk was laughable.  
Trouble must have been able to read the expression on her face. "I know. But trust me, as soon as Root gets here I'm sure I'm back out to Retrieval One."  
Holly became serious. "So how long were you planning on not telling me about that goblin who shot me?"  
Trouble's cast his eyes to the desk. "Look, Holly, I wanted to tell you but you know the Council and you know Root. They know you would have started up a big commotion about everything. They didn't think there was any risk."  
"That's it, Trouble. They didn't think. What about the Ambassador? How is he taking all this? After all, his son was just kidnapped last night."  
"Not well. In fact he just went to go get something to drink. He'll be back any minute so I suggest you go join your Recon buddies and find out where you're supposed to be and what you're supposed to be doing."  
As Holly left she knew something was wrong. Root wouldn't have left without something being completely wrong. And she didn't trust the goblin. She looked in disgust at the Recon boys drinking large mugs of coffee and laughing. She ignored them and went back to the Ops Room. Foaly had some questions to answer.  
Holly hit the buzzer, "Foaly! Let me in, now!"  
"Just a minute, Cap'."  
"NOW, Foaly."  
There was something in the tone of Holly's voice that made Foaly press the button to open the door without any of his usual sarcastic remarks. "What is it? I was just working on something important."  
"It's Commander Root. He's gone."  
"What do you mean 'gone'?"  
"He isn't here. He never showed up here at the Police Plaza today and he didn't call in sick. Nobody knows where he is. I've got a bad feeling about this."  
"I've got a bad feeling about something else."  
  
"What is it?"  
Foaly pointed to one of the screens. "Check out this monitor. Look, watch it again: our goblin friend ditched the iris-cam." Sure enough the video feed showed the goblin walking away with Peteris, Cronus, and Aquarius.  
"But where are they?" murmured Holly. "Rewind the video feed and pause it.there!" Holly's well-trained eye scanned the image. "Look," she pointed out a small rectangular piece of paper. "Zoom in on that." As the image expanded Holly's breath caught. It looked like- "Foaly, that's an approved Visa. They're at the surface. The date says it's current."  
Foaly snorted. "Surface? That dwarf's got a burn time of less than three minutes. It's hardly nine yet. The sun will be out and he'll be in blisters. The others won't be too well either." Even back when they had all lived above ground fairies had been primarily nocturnal creatures. Sun bleached out a lot of their magic.  
"Just shut your yap a minute, Foaly. I'm trying to figure out how soon I can get to the surface," snapped Holly.  
"There's a flare coming in at E1 in an hour and a half. We've got to get you there."  
Holly grabbed a large assortment of weapons and a moon belt (to reduce the weight of all the heavy equipment). Foaly didn't even fuss too much when he saw Holly take a set of Koboi Hummingbirds.  
He folded his arms and looked a moment at Holly as she put her helmet on. "You know it's against regulations for an officer to go up there without orders."  
"Since when do I bother about regulations? For the matter, since when do you bother?"  
"Never, but you're supposed to hear it anyway and since Root isn't here to remind you.Look, Holly, keep the video feed coming on the helmet cam and I want you to wear an iris-cam in case of any problems with the helmet." The barest hint of worry crept into his usually sarcastic voice. He usually wouldn't even consider the slightest possibility that something might just go wrong with his helmet. Foaly made his way to a store of what looked pretty similar to human contact lenses inside glass vials. "Hazel, right?"  
After inserting the tiny camera in her eye (after taking off and replacing the helmet) Holly stood before the door and turned back, "Don't tell Trouble or any of them where I'm going. I want it to be too late to stop me."  
"Alright. Be careful out there. I'll get you access to the chute. We've tightened security there."  
Holly tried to go through the door and found someone blocking her way.  
"What are you doing here, Captain?" Trouble frowned at the arsenal she was carrying.  
"I was just-"  
"I know you were 'just' but where are you going? Recon is supposed to be at the other end of the Police Plaza waiting for further instructions. We can't make a move until we know where they've got Aquarius."  
"Trouble, I know where they've got him."  
"What? Then why didn't you say something? I've got five people in the office making a fuss and plenty more than aren't too happy. I wish you'd mention this sooner! Why didn't you?"  
"Because she doesn't know exactly where they are," Foaly said.  
"Oh."  
Holly glared at Foaly and said, turning back to Trouble, "Look, they're above ground, or they're going there. I know that much. I think they've got the Commander, too. I'm going up there. Maybe they've got some link above ground."  
"You think its Artemis Fowl?"  
"No. I don't think it's him. Not this time anyway."  
Trouble sighed, "Holly, you know I can't let you go up there, especially without backup."  
"Then, I guess you don't know I'm gone. I'm going."  
"So am I," Trouble told her. There was a spark in his eye. Holly knew that like herself, Trouble preferred fieldwork to desk jobs and dealing with civilians.  
"Sorry, Commander, but I think you've got to stay here. Somebody's got to keep an eye on this place. The Council already stuck you with it."  
"Fine, but as soon as Root gets back, I'm out of here. Are you at least going to take backup with you?"  
"No." She put another hydrosion shell in her pocket. "I'm going alone."  
"In that case, I officially know nothing at all about your departure. I only discover your absence sometime hours from now when somebody else asks where you are."  
Holly couldn't help but grin. "Thanks. Bye, Trouble, I mean Commander Kelp. Foaly, I'll be in touch."  
"You better be. Come on I'll take you to the chute. Trouble, if you don't get back there soon someone might show up looking for you and ruin the whole thing. Get a move on." Captain Kelp left in a resigned manner as Holly and Foaly made there way to the chutes. Foaly gave Holly last minute advice and a blackout suit, "You Recon jocks never remember these." 


	5. Aid Given Where Aid's Needed

"Artemis, do you think they'll have a problem with us being here?" The large man looked around uneasily, something he didn't often do. Although he had weapons concealed everywhere and hardware from a fairy helmet was giving his eyes extra abilities, he wasn't completely at home with the ideas of interfering with the fairies on their turf.  
"No. We have a legitimate case. After all, one of their fairies stole from me. No one steals from me without paying a hefty price in return. Although, after he's punished I think it'd be to our advantage to hire Mister Diggums as part of the Fowl staff." Artemis smiled a smile that would send shivers down the back of the Grim Reaper himself. It didn't help that he was wearing equipment from a fairy helmet as well; he had a hood over his head to hide the bizarre wires and lenses, as did Butler. But everything about Artemis was unnerving, from his quick eyes to his manicured fingernails and his handmade loafers made you want to shiver. The hooded sweatshirt looked ill-placed on Artemis but he waited with patience. Checking once more for a pair of sunglasses in his pocket.  
So there they waited, near the entrance to E1. It was only 4 o'clock; the fairies wouldn't be out until dark. Artemis settled back and started eating some quail eggs and considering whether or not Fort Nocks would be worth breaking into. Butler caught up on some reading of Weapons of the 21st Century.  
  
By the time Holly emerged from the pod, it was nearly dark above ground. She got an above ground Visa. Normally a lengthy procedure but a few threats exchanged between her and the gnome at the desk and she held a Visa in her hand. Holly had insisted that she needed to replenish her magic supply, which in truth was very full, but all the same it was a full moon and so the excuse was plausible. She'd perform the Ritual anyway, a fairy could always use more magic. Holly checked everywhere she could think of within the terminal; there was no sign of Aquarius or his captors. Holly had put the blackout suit on that was best to wear for above ground jaunts. She waited until she knew the last rays of the sun were gone. Shielded (using magic to vibrate at a frequency undetectable to human eyes) Holly emerged above ground in a field. Against regulations, she took off her helmet and swallowed several lungfuls of fresh, if not completely pollutant free, air. Unbeknownst to her, she was clearly visible to two humans.  
"There's our fairy." Artemis stood up and left his hiding place and put the sunglasses on over his fairy hardware, Butler traveled closely behind him. Artemis walked with elegance and a smug expression. He didn't say anything until he was a few feet from Holly, who without the special features offered by the goggles he was wearing would merely have appeared as a slight haze. "Hello, Captain Short. So we meet again."  
"It better not be you behind this, Fowl," she growled.  
"Behind what? I assure you, Captain. I am the victim here."  
"What are you babbling about, criminal? I've got to go rescue a hostage. Probably two hostages." She scowled.  
"One of your kind has stolen from me. An acquaintance of yours as it happens. Mulch Diggums. I was merely waiting here for a friendly face with which to report this crime to. I feel it's necessary to go back underground and see the Commander immediately." He smiled.  
Holly pressed a button on the Hummingbirds and rose until she was eye level with Artemis. "The Commander's not in, may I take a message?" she asked coldly. She had no time for this; besides, whenever this Mud Boy got involved in something there was usually serious trouble.  
"Not in? Kidnapped. He's one of the hostages and you are searching for him. Would you care for our assistance? I'm sure Butler and I could find him and we'd gladly help. For a price of course."  
The last thing she wanted was Fowl to be involved, but odds were he'd be useful and she really didn't want him underground or hanging out by the fairy fort either. "I guess I'll have to keep an eye on the two of you. Wouldn't want more trouble around here. What's your price?"  
"The capture of Mulch Diggums."  
"Don't you think we're already trying that?"  
"When he's captured, bring him to me. I have a score to settle."  
Holly chuckled. "He broke into Fowl Manor?"  
"Yes. And look at this memorandum he left." Fowl took out a note left in the safe Mulch hand visited and handed it to Holly.  
The note was written in Gnomish, Holly's native language; it still disturbed her that the Mud Boy had learned to read it as well. The translation ran thus: Miss me? Catch me if you can, if not, you'll notice something else is missing.  
"Well, what does it mean? We've checked every room, we know what's missing and what isn't."  
"So what is missing?"  
"Some LEP weaponry and a helmet, two bars of LEP gold, and a watch belonging to my father."  
"In other words, mostly stuff you stole."  
Artemis gave an expression of mock indigence, "Stole? Never. That crack Retrieval Squad the LEP sent were asking for trouble. Of course they had to be relieved of their weapons; and that gold was mine, fair and square. But how can you still be sore over that? It was two years ago."  
"You kidnapped me and held me for ransom."  
"I was young. Besides, I'm a criminal; crime is what I do. Although I don't deal with hostages any longer." He raised his voice. "Butler, it seems we have a job to do." And some thinking to do as well, thought Artemis. She must be worried if she was willing to accept help, especially our help. 


	6. Trouble's Trouble

Trouble groaned and muttered, "Where in all this insanity is Root!"  
The Ambassador roared, "Where is that Captain who let those hooligans take my son away?"  
"I-I'll have someone fetch her right now, sir." Trouble knew he was lying through his teeth. "As a matter of fact I'll go look for her myself, right now." As he left he said to a nearby Corporal, "Get that man something to drink. Something strong." He couldn't stand it anymore.  
"Yes, Troubs."  
"That's Commander Kelp, Corporal," he muttered to his brother.  
Something big was going on and he wasn't going to stay at a desk underground. He was going to go talk to that centaur.  
  
"Holly? Where are you going?"  
"Look, Foaly, we've got no idea where to even start looking for those creeps. I think I can cover more ground this way. Besides, they were poking around near the terminal."  
"Then why didn't you just mesmerize them and send them home?"  
"It was no good, they were wearing reflective lenses. Besides you know they'd come back. Listen, I think we've got a lead. I'll check back in, in a while." She turned back to where Artemis and Butler were waiting by their car. "Get in," she growled. Nudging the other two into the car, Holly climbed into the backseat.  
"You don't have a lead. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Let's go over the facts, shall we?" He didn't wait for a response. "Your Commander is gone missing, presumed captured, and so things in the Lower Elements are hectic; if I remember, regulations state you shouldn't go into the field without backup, presumably and likely, you have none. Have I got things covered?" He looked at her from the passenger seat.  
"Not quite, Mud Boy."  
"Ah, yes. You mentioned a second hostage, which I know nothing about. So enlighten me."  
"The son of the Atlantean Ambassador is missing. He's no more then 10 years old. I saw the kidnapping myself."  
"If you saw the kidnapping why didn't you stop it, Captain?"  
"Factors beyond my control. I shouldn't have been put in charge of watching him in the first place. I'm not a babysitter, I'm a military officer." Holly took a few deep breaths. "All right, the perpetrators could only have traveled at night, but they've been above ground since last night. They need to stay near water but well out of the sun. Where are they?"  
Artemis smiled. "Get us on the main road, Butler. I think I know where they are."  
  
"Foaly? Foaly? You here?"  
"No, I'm out having a drink," came the sarcastic reply.  
"Then open the door!"  
"Ask politely."  
"Foaly! Open the door right now or I'll talk to the Council about cutting your budget!" Nobody could fire Foaly, and he knew it, but budget cuts were always a nice threat option.  
Foaly pressed the button and opened the door. "So what do you want, Commander?" his voice was now sulky, he hated any talk of budget cuts.  
"Weapons. Give me lots of weapons and a blackout suit. Big guns. Wings, too."  
"What?"  
"I can't take it anymore! I'm as wrong for an office job as Holly is for watching kids! I'm getting out of here, bringing back Root, and chaining him to his desk."  
Foaly snickered.  
"I'm serious, donkey." He began pulling things off shelves, mainly weapons.  
"Alright, don't get your ears in a knot. Look, what are you going to do about the Police Plaza? They only just realized Holly's missing. You won't go unnoticed so long."  
Trouble chewed nervously on his lip.  
Foaly smirked. "Didn't think of that, did you? I've got just the thing." Foaly took Trouble's finger and slipped it in a long, metal device. A needle pricked Trouble finger, drawing a slight blood sample. Foaly punched some buttons as he stood back and pointed the metal device at Trouble.  
Trouble soon found himself standing next to himself. "What did you do?"  
"I'm sure you'll be pleased to know you were just the test dummy for my new inventions. This is a prototype. Using your blood and a picture of your face I made an exact copy of you."  
"Test dummy!"  
Foaly chuckled.  
"Test dummy! What if something went wrong?"  
"That's why this was tested in the lab, not the field. Also why it was tested on you and not on a real officer."  
Captain Kelp took some steadying breaths while wishing he could strangle Foaly. "So what can this thing do, horse?"  
Foaly recognized the expression on the Captain's face: trying to remain calm while wishing to ring the neck of the most annoying creature under the earth. "You get more and more like Julius by the minute. The copy can speak limitedly, and move, but it can't pick up things, it's not solid."  
"And how can it do this?"  
"It's remote controlled. By me."  
"And how are you going to know what to make it do?"  
"Because you'll place a camera and microphone in the office."  
"What if they leave the office?"  
"Look, it isn't your permanent replacement. This is just to buy you time. It'll wear off in seven hours and disappear. Poof. Gone."  
"Then what are we waiting for?"  
"Word from Holly. We don't know where she's going."  
"I don't give a stink worm's backside about that! Horse, something is seriously wrong here. Nobody can lay hands on Root. He's one of the best Commanders in LEP history. This is serious. I'm going up there and bringing back Root and that kid. No buts, Foaly. That's it. End of story."  
  
Root was just waking up. His head was aching and he felt dizzy. The last thing he could really remember was waking up, leaving the house.that was it. That's when that goblin and elf came out of nowhere, pretty much. But how could that happen? He was a seasoned officer, he was recon's best and brightest. Nobody should have been able to succeed in sneaking up on him. Root tried to get a handle on his surroundings. He couldn't move at all. Eye movement and breathing were all he could muster. Darvit! He thought, there must have been some sort of paralyzer in that tranquilizer or whatever they shot at me. Then he saw it. The Ambassador's son was lying nearby, but was he breathing? 


	7. Moonlight Jaunt

When they got out of the car Artemis explained they stilled had farther yet to walk. "I trust they wouldn't have chosen a very accessible place."  
Holly grunted and turned on her Hummingbirds, there was no point in having to walk when she could fly.  
Artemis listened closely, only the barest hint of noise came from Holly's wings. They seemed quite maneuverable too. If only the design could be copied it would be worth a fortune. Such a pity that the human technology was nowhere nearly caught up to the fairies'.  
"How much farther, Mud Boy? We're burning moonlight."  
"Nearly there, Captain." Artemis grunted, very uncharacteristic.  
About ten minutes later they reached an old, abandoned well. It was damp and dirty. "We're here."  
Holly looked around to see exactly where "here" was. The well looked like it was pretty old. It hadn't been used in many years. It looked like the perfect place for an imprisoned fairy to be kept. She leaned carefully over the edge of the well: for all she knew the goblin and his pals could be down there, even if they weren't, she didn't trust the Mud Men behind her any further than she could throw them.  
She was alarmed at the scene below her. She activated her wings and the light her helmet.  
Butler called, "What do you see down there?"  
"Just a minute, human," she answered. Holly looked around. The captors sure didn't clean up well after their prisoners. There were hypodermic darts around that had possibly held a tranquilizing solution; there were crumbs of food; an empty bag of Squid Snaps; and a few empty water bottles. She called to the Mud Men, "They've been here! No telling where they are now."  
A voice in Holly's ear said, "Not so loud, Holly. I can hear you."  
"I know, Foaly, but the Mud Man and the Mud Boy can't."  
"Who are you speaking to, Captain Short?" asked Artemis. "The centaur? Give him my regards and tell him I want the design for those wings you're wearing."  
Foaly asked, "Is that Fowl? Tell him to drop dead."  
Holly grinned. "He says you should drop dead."  
"What did you find down there?"  
"Plenty. Come take a look."  
"And how do you expect me to get down there?"  
Holly thought for a few seconds and jettisoned a piton from her belt. "Start climbing, Mud Boy."  
Butler asked, "What about me?"  
"You stay up there, big guy. If you try to come down we'll all get stuck, the well's pretty narrow."  
Artemis wiped imaginary dust from his polo. "Stay here and keep watch." Artemis sighed and began to struggle to climb down the rope and to the bottom of the well. Manual labor was not Artemis's forte. His hands began to hurt before he was halfway down. He eventually reached the bottom. "Ugh. Why didn't you warn me? I'm ankle deep in.in.wet."  
"Artemis." Holly tutted. "What is happening to your vocabulary? 'Ugh' isn't a word. And wet is an adjective, not a noun."  
Artemis regained his composure, now he was getting grammar tips from a fairy. "So where is the astonishing evidence you've found, Captain Short."  
Holly picked up the various items and showed him.  
"We should take the darts back to the Manor. There may be residue inside that will tell us what your friends were shot with. Butler? Have you found anything up there that might tell us where they went?"  
"They seem to have headed north."  
"Good. Then maybe we can still catch them."  
"But, Artemis, the sun's almost up. If I'm not mistaken, the Captain needs to be indoors before dawn."  
"You're right, Butler." He gripped the rope firmly in both hands. "Pull me up."  
Butler complied. Holly turned on the wings and rose until she was head-level with Butler. "Well? Open the car door. And give me back my piton, Artemis."  
Holly sat in the backseat and rewound the piton for later use. Artemis soon fell asleep in the passenger's seat. What do you know? thought Holly. The Mud Boy looks almost innocent. Confident that Butler was in control at the wheel, Holly allowed herself to drift off to sleep. It had been a long day and a long night. 


	8. A Fowl Affair

Trouble was trying to talk some sense into the sprite manning the aboveground Visas. It had been a job to get the hologram set and find another excuse to get out of the office again. But he'd done it. Now he had to try and explain to the sprite why he needed a Visa at dawn.  
"I have important business!"  
"Sorry, Captain, can't let you through. You're crazy! The sun's out."  
"Listen, pal, it's Commander."  
"Alright, Commander, the sun's out, you're staying here. There's no way you're going out."  
"So I'm supposed to sit here 'til sunset?"  
"Yep."  
  
"Typical!"  
"Jus' sit on over on that couch and make yerself comfy. Or I'll call the LEP and let them handle it. 'Bout time they made themselves useful."  
"Haven't you been listening? I am the LEP!"  
"Just sit quiet-like and wait for the moon."  
  
Root groaned. He couldn't really move; his limbs were heavy. Something was cutting into his ankles and there was something wrong with his arms. He was weak. The last thing he remembered was waking up at the bottom of the well, tied up with the Ambassador's son next to him. Had the kid been alive? The light was just starting to come. He saw a goblin in front of him.  
"Shield, elf." The goblin's voice was layered with the mesmer.  
Root shielded. He watched the goblin walked away, the sun was coming up and there was nothing he could do about it. He was stranded. And there was a road in front of him. He watched as a loud, red Mud Man vehicle when roaring past and he got a lungful of exhaust fumes. He coughed and couldn't move. He was tied to a tree, to rot on the roadside.  
  
As Holly woke-up, they pulled into the driveway at Fowl Manor. She felt oddly weak. That's it, she thought. What's the Mud Boy done to me this time? Then she realized the sun was climbing high, it must have been after nine. Sunlight drained magic and power from fairies like it bleached a photograph.  
She looked at the front seat. Artemis was waking up. Butler saw him and said, "Artemis, your parents are coming home today."  
"Oh, good."  
"The family party is today."  
"That's nice."  
"Artemis! You've got a fairy in the backseat and there's a houseful of people coming over."  
At hearing this, Artemis fully woke and became alert. He turned his head to the rear of the car, "Captain? How do you feel about returning to your cell? It's still furnished."  
Holly tried to sit up; it was a struggle, but she managed. She forgot to speak English when she replied vehemently, "Not a chance, Mud Boy."  
Artemis, though fluent in written Gnommish, couldn't speak it or understand it spoken. "That didn't sound very positive. Very well. Butler, would you mind escorting the Captain up to one of the guest rooms? She can't last much longer here, even through tinted windows."  
Butler got out of the car and picked Holly up off the backseat as though she were a doll and carried her into the house, over his shoulder.  
Holly didn't object. She didn't have the strength to. Her helmet beeped.  
  
"Oh my gods," breathed Foaly. "What?" asked Commander Kelp. "She's at Fowl Manor." "What's wrong with her? That place is off limits." "Try telling her that." Foaly played with a few knobs and switches until he, Holly, and Trouble were on the same frequency.  
"Holly! As acting Commander I am telling you to exit that vicinity now."  
"Sorry, Commander. I'm staying, it's daylight and I'm drained." She yawned and just before she lost consciousness she said, "By the way, Fowl's having a family reunion today."  
Trouble shook his head, "Darvit! She's going to be in a house full of foul Fowls." He was still stuck in the station waiting for the moon and one of his best officers was in a Mud Boy's house, she sounded drugged but maybe she was just overtired.  
  
Artemis put on a smart looking suit and went to see how Butler was getting along. He met Butler as he came out of one of the guest rooms.  
"Is she settled?"  
"Yes, Artemis."  
"What did you do about her weapons?"  
Butler hesitated. He didn't know what Artemis had wanted done. "I took her weapons and helmet from her and put them in the dresser."  
"Was there anything we hadn't seen yet?"  
"Nothing new."  
"Good." He heard the doorbell downstairs. "The caterers are here."  
  
The first guests arrived soon after the caterers finished setting up and the rest arrived not long after. Artemis sighed. He'd spent the better part of the last three and a half hours getting his hand shook by various uncles and great-uncles and he received smothering hugs from his aunts. He detested this much physical contact. Artemis looked around. His parents had arrived an hour before and were now busy discussing things with the guests.  
Artemis looked over at the one boy his age at the whole affair: his mother's nephew was a pudgy little boy, a month younger than Artemis. He spent his days wearing out his thumbs on the latest video game system and eating mass quantities of chocolate.  
"Artemis? Artemis? Artemis, where's the bathroom?" asked Nick.  
"Down that hallway, third door on your left." He had to get out of here. The noise and crowding of so many people was stifling. He followed the path of his cousin and stopped at the second door on the left.  
"Artemis? Artemis? Artemis, where are you going? Do you have video games in there? Can I play? Please?"  
"I'm going in here. No there aren't video games and if there were you couldn't play."  
  
Holly woke to the sounds of the guests downstairs: eating, drinking, listening to music and have a good time. Her first thought was: where am I? She wasn't sure. It took a few seconds for her memory to return. She was at Fowl's. Where was her gun? Her helmet? He took them! She silently cursed the Mud Boy. Then, she decided to check the room. No weapons beside the bed, what about the dresser? Bingo. She put on her helmet.  
"Foaly? Foaly, are you there?"  
"Holly? I've been trying to contact you four almost four hours! What's happening up there?"  
"It's like I said, Butler brought me in the house. I dozed off after talking to you last time and Fowl's having a party downstairs."  
"Are you locked in the room?"  
"Let me check."  
Holly heard the centaur mutter, "She didn't check.she didn't check!"  
"Yeah, yeah, I just woke up. I'm not locked in. There's a monitor here."  
"He's watching you?"  
"No, it shows the outside of the door, tells me if someone's coming."  
"Impressive. You men the Mud Boy's been acting civil?"  
"Almost civil. Where's Kelp?"  
"He's not too happy." The centaur chuckled.  
"What do you mean? Where is he?"  
"The terminal at Tara. They won't let him out; it's 1 in the afternoon. He's mad. He's ready to knock out the sprite behind the counter."  
It was only then that Holly noticed the thick drapes drawn across the windows allowing as little light in as possible. "So do you want my report on what we found?"  
"Shoot."  
"Alright, we found an old abandoned well. Inside were some hypodermic darts, they had some liquid left and Fowl's supposed be running lab tests on them, our guess is that they held a tranquilizing solution. There were crumbs of food with an empty bag of Squid Snaps; Aquarius's favorite. And a few empty water bottles."  
"Any sign of where they went?"  
"North. I'll send you the coordinates of the well. Send them to Trouble and I'll meet him there when the sun goes down."  
"Alright."  
The door opened and Holly turned around to find her host smiling at her and wearing sunglasses.  
"Enjoy your rest, Captain?"  
"I saw you come in on the monitor. You can lose the reflective lenses. No tricks."  
He made to remove the glasses, but he hesitated. "No tricks?"  
"No tricks, Fowl. I'm not like you. I keep my word."  
He took the glasses off. "But if I'm not going to wear reflective lenses, neither are you. No helmet." He waited as Holly slowly removed her helmet. "Ah, yes, about the monitor. I thought you'd find it useful. Butler and I have the keys to get in the room but if you left it unlocked we wouldn't want anyone to stumble in. What would they think if they found an elf? As it happens my cousin is in the hallway as we speak."  
"What's he doing there?"  
"Probably trying to figure out where I would have hidden video games. But that's of no importance. I ran tests on the solutions we found in the darts. Three had some sort of tranquilizing agent in them and the last was for blocking brain signals to the rest of the body for movement. A paralyzing chemical if you will."  
"Did you save them?"  
"No. Why?"  
"Evidence. There's always a tribunal. As it is they're going to be furious, my above ground VISA is expired."  
"I assume the 'they' you are referring to is your Council and your VISA must have expired last night."  
"The Council and that smart mouth gnome I was bullying at the desk. How long until sunset?"  
"Five hours. The sun should set around six, if I am not mistaken. I am rarely mistaken."  
"Great. Get me something to eat. Something clean."  
"I'll send Juliet up with something. I've got to get back to the party; someone may notice I'm not there. The burdens of family."  
"Burden? Then why did we chase mob men through the Artic and radiation to get your father back last year?"  
"Forgive me, I'm grateful for that. It's the other relatives I'd like to get rid of. I'll send Juliet with something shortly." Artemis left.  
Holly started pacing. This was almost as bad as her cell, true this was more comfortable and she wasn't locked in, but she still couldn't leave. She'd be seen. Or would she? She could shield herself and they wouldn't see her. Not yet though. She had to call Foaly. She put on her helmet.  
"Hey, Foaly? Are you there? Foaly? Foaly! Answer me or as soon as I get back underground I'm gonna-"  
"Yeah, yeah, what do you want?" He sounded crankier than usual.  
"Did you talk to trouble yet?"  
"No, I've been sitting on my butt all day relaxing and telling the Ambassador that her son's rescuer is at Fowl Manor."  
"Knock it off, Foaly. Now I'm going to ask one more time before I come back down there and kick your hairy butt all the way to the center of the earth. Have you told Commander Kelp where to meet me?"  
"He knows. He still can't leave the fairy fort though. Not 'til the sun goes down. Anything useful from Fowl?"  
"Three darts were tranquilizers, the fourth paralyzed the victim."  
"The question is: which victim got the last dart?"  
"My guess would be Root. The kid's not dangerous, but Root on the other hand."  
"He probably can't be dangerous anymore."  
"Foaly. Think positive."  
  
"Hey, don't blame me. I'm just stating the facts. It's not like you ever listen anyway," the centaur said.  
Holly heard a crunching sound. She could just picture Foaly sitting at his desk, eating his carrots, and shrugging. "Is there any way that you can activate the subcutaneous sleeper in him?"  
"Sorry but those aren't meant to work above ground. I tried. The beeper sent a negative response. It didn't work."  
"Okay, but what about the other two?"  
"They caught the dwarf in the terminal but he's not talking."  
"So the elf and the goblin are still out here. That means-"  
The door opened.  
"Fairy girl? Why are you talking to yourself?" Juliet came in the room. "You're not going to play any tricks on me just because I'm not wearing the sunglasses, are you?"  
Holly grinned. So Juliet hadn't forgotten about the time Holly used the mesmer on her. She made sure she wasn't smiling when she took off the helmet. "You Fowls are all alike."  
"Excuse me? I'm not a Fowl; I'm a Butler. We just work for them." That was something of an understatement. The Butlers often not only worked for the Fowls, but sometimes died for them too.  
"Sorry about that," Holly tried to sound civil. "Did you bring the food?"  
"Yes. Carrots, celery, apples, and Irish mineral water. We weren't sure what kind of meat you ate so I didn't bring any."  
"Thank you."  
"You're welcome. I guess. Why were you talking to yourself?"  
"I was talking to myself. There's a microphone in the helmet that let's me talk to my friends."  
"Oh. That's cool. I guess." She looked around the room distractedly. "I'm getting back to the party. But Artemis said if you try to leave without him, he'll just get Butler to track you down and follow you. He said he has to see firsthand how this all turns out." She left.  
She put her helmet back on. "You still there, Foaly?"  
"No, I'm away right now. Leave a message after the beep. Beep."  
"Cut it out, donkey."  
"Ooh, harsh words, Captain. What was all that?"  
"You remember the man mountain that took out retrieval one a couple years ago? Butler?"  
"Yeah."  
"That's his sister."  
"Oh."  
"Yeah. Any plans for outsmarting Fowl here?"  
"I'd like to think I'm smarter than the Mud Boy." Foaly knew he was the stereotypical, unappreciated genius. When would they learn? "And why did you take your helmet off? She could have given you an order. Like 'don't leave the house'.  
"You're still avoiding the question, Foaly."  
"Look around the room for me."  
Holly scanned the room so Foaly could see everything through the iris cam.  
"Stop. Windows. Leave out the window as soon as it's sunset."  
"His windows all have a high-tech security alarm. You want every officer in Dublin here? Think again."  
"No, my way still works," he insisted. "You slip out, shielded, during the commotion. No one knows."  
"Think again. Fowl will know what happened and he still has fairy helmets. He'd see me."  
"You're giving Fowl too much credit."  
"We know it doesn't pay to underestimate him. I'm not taking any chances with him."  
"Look, Holly. You may have gotten rest but I haven't and I'm exhausted. Even a genius like me can't go this long without sleep. I'll get back to you before sunset. If you want to talk to Kelp use the third channel on your helmet."  
"Alright. Good work. Get some rest, Foaly. Over and out." Holly paced around the room. She looked at the monitor. No one was out there. Holly shielded and opened the door. She couldn't leave the house because of the sunlight, but she could leave the room. She'd find Fowl's study and see what he'd been up to.  
  
Artemis flipped open his laptop and checked the screen. He'd retreated to an antechamber; he had installed a button camera in Holly's room and linked it to his laptop, he could see her every move. He watched Holly disappear before his eyes. She shielded. Where would she go? Artemis knew that Holly was an excellent field agent, resourceful, able to think on her feet, and suspicious. Artemis knew Holly wouldn't sit quietly in her room twiddling her thumbs; he would have been quite disappointed if she had. He knew Holly wouldn't leave the house yet, it was too early, so she would probably attempt to break into his study and see what he'd been up to. When she got there, he would be waiting. 


	9. In the Enemy's House

Holly found the study without significant trouble, she'd been there before. She was no wizard with computers but she thought she could hack into a couple of files on one of Fowl's computers. The door was looked. Holly shot the lock with an appropriate setting on her blaster and it melted. Perfect. She kicked open the door with her boot.  
"Holly, I'm afraid I can't allow you access to these files. They are confidential, you understand."  
Holly gritted her teeth. This was not something she expected. She should have known he'd put some sort of bug in her room. Fowl was foul. "Away from the computer, Mud Boy." She'd been hoping to find out what he was doing skulking around E1.  
"Please, Captain, put away the gun. No need to for hostility." Artemis discreetly reached inside his pocket and pressed the autodial to Butler's pager, just in case. He doubted the Captain would fire the weapon at him, but you never knew and he wasn't taking any chances with this fairy.  
Holly moved ever so slightly to the left as Fowl spoke. That's right, talk 'til your blue in the face, you can't order me around. She started punches the keys on one of the computers.  
"Holly."  
The Mud Boy's voice was sharp. Like a knife. Holly kept typing.  
"I've tried to be patient. Cease and desist." She was ignoring him. This was getting irritating. "I know I can't make you obey orders since you're wearing a helmet with a reflective visor but what I can do is call Butler in here and have him bodily carry you out of here and down to your cell."  
Holly tried another password. Fowl had looked every file on the computer.  
"You can walk back to your room of your own free will, or you can stay here. If you stay her Butler will come, handcuff you, and carry you to the cellar." Artemis saw butler standing in the doorway, he gave a barely perceptible nod. "What's your choice?"  
Holly was frustrated. This wasn't working. She'd tried dozens of passwords including: greed, gold, money, Artemis, Fowl, exploitation, dinero, and winner. She wanted to tell Fowl that she'd take option number three: punching him out, and breaking his computers if she couldn't get them to work. But though she hadn't moved she knew Butler had entered the room. Through gritted teeth she replied. "I'll go back to the room." She turned and found Butler where she knew he'd be.  
"Good. Butler, take her weapons. She obviously can't be trusted with them. She tried to shoot me."  
Holly typed in one more password possibility: KEEP_OUT_HOLLY. Holly knew she was being baited with what Fowl had said but she turned back and lost it anyway. "No, if I tried to shoot you, you'd be unconscious right now!"  
"Quiet, Captain. There are guests downstairs and I doubt you would like them to become aware of your existence. I've changed my mind. Butler, relieve her of her weapons and take her to her cell. By the way, Captain, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that I had it repaired and refurnished this year. You can't break out of there."  
Artemis knew he was asking a lot of Butler. Butler was a man of honor and Holly had saved not only the lives of he and Artemis, but also Juliet, Artemis's father, and restored his mother's sanity. He didn't feel right treating her like a prisoner again after all she'd done.  
"She keeps her helmet." Butler said this to Artemis, and he said it firmly. They owed Holly at least that much, not putting commands on her.  
Artemis scowled. "Very well." Butler was right and they all knew it.  
Butler leaned against the door to prevent Holly's escape. He crouched to the floor and brought Holly's hands behind her back. Artemis came over and handed him a pair of handcuffs, they were too big for Holly's wrists but they fit her slim ankles well. He also took out a pair of smaller handcuffs.  
As Butler put them on Holly, Artemis informed her that they were custom-made. Butler knew what weaponry Holly had on her from the search earlier. He took her baton and her blaster. He left her helmet as promised.  
"Artemis?"  
"Can you give me a helmet?" Putting Butler's head into a fairy helmet would be like putting a thimble on a potato. But Artemis had torn apart several helmets and put the mechanisms inside construction worker helmets.  
"I'm sorry, friend, but what would the guests think?"  
Fair enough. He'd just have to make sure he didn't let go of her.  
"Take the wings too." Artemis smiled at Holly, the ball was in his park and he knew it, he had control and she could do nothing.  
Butler fumbled with the tiny locking mechanisms that strapped Holly to the wings; his fingers were large.  
Artemis sighed. "Let me do it." He knelt down and separated Holly from the wings. Then he tried to take the helmet.  
Holly immediately put her hands over it (both simultaneously, since they were cuffed together) and kicked forwarded with one foot, allowing her to fall and get out of Artemis's way. But Butler was too fast for her. He caught her, stood, and dangled her out of Artemis's reach.  
"We said she could keep the helmet, Artemis," Butler reminded him.  
"I suppose. I was merely going to make sure she shielded. I thought perhaps she might not shield in hopes of not being carried down there. Take her anyway, it's her own skin's loss if they see her." Artemis knew he had said just the right thing. She would comply; there'd be no trouble for now.  
Butler hoisted Holly up on his shoulder, "Shield, miss. I'm leaving the room." Oddly enough, Holly did as she was asked. Butler crossed his arms across his chest. It was the perfect way to trap Holly's legs to keep her from leaving while at the same time retaining a natural pose. Artemis remained in the study; he complained it would soon enough be his unfortunate duty to see to the guests again. Holly and Butler exited, making their way down the stairs, through the first floor rooms, and down into the wine cellars. Holly and Butler went until they reached a small room. They stepped inside. The ceiling was cement, the floor and walls cement. In one corner lay a small mattress with a pillow and blanket. A camera was in an upper corner of the room.  
The room was almost identical to when Holly had first seen it. The only difference was that the cot had been on a metal frame; obviously Artemis deemed it too dangerous. Last time Holly had smashed the frame of the bed repeatedly against the ground, breaking a hole in it. Holly had no magic at the time but she'd managed to smuggle an acorn in and she planted the acorn there in the little plot of soil she managed to uncover. It seemed Artemis did not intend for it to happen again.  
Holly felt herself set down upon the ground. She unshielded.  
"Holly, I'm sorry. About Artemis, I don't know what's gotten into him. I'll make sure he gives back the wings and weapons in one piece. "  
She nodded. "And-thanks for keeping him from taking my helmet."  
"We owed you at least that much. Truth be told we owe you a lot for everything you've done for us." Butler left.  
Holly lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Trying to formulate a plan.  
  
Artemis looked at the computer that Holly had been messing with. His eyes widened. She'd gotten the right password. That was a surprise. Artemis glanced at the document; relieved Holly hadn't read it. Artemis saved the document to a disk and erased any memory of it from the computer. No one would be seeing it any time soon. Artemis turned on a screen somewhere else that had been off for a long time, the one that monitored the cell. He saw Butler and Holly exchange parting words. He watched Butler exit and Holly lie down on the cot. Artemis went to see to his guests. 


	10. Finding the Man in Charge

Trouble checked his moonometer. One hour. One hour, Holly, I'm coming. Like it or not.  
  
Holly knew she was being monitored by Fowl. She wasn't sure how long he'd stay in the room but that was part of his plan, he could leave and she'd never know. Holly turned her helmet to the third frequency channel. "Trouble? Trouble, are you there? Respond."  
Trouble couldn't believe it. "Holly? Is that you?"  
"No, it's Root. Of course it's me. What's the situation?"  
"I don't know. I was hoping you'd tell me."  
"We got a lead last night but dawn came and we had to get going."  
"Where are you, Holly?"  
"Fowl manor."  
"Fowl manor! Are you crazy, Holly? Honestly. What are you doing there? If any of those Mud Men hurt you, I'm going to-"  
"Relax, Trouble. Hold yourself together, Commander. I told you this morning. I had to go to Fowl's house because the sun was coming up. They sent me to a room with a monitor so I could see if anyone was coming. I slept for a long time, I was tired. When I woke up Fowl was downstairs having a party. Unfortunately he bugged my room and found out when I snuck out to go check out the files in the office. Everything was pass-coded. I figured it out though but I didn't get a chance to look at the file. Fowl called the big guy into the office. Took my weapons and forced me into the cell. Let me keep the helmet though."  
"I swear, as soon as it's dark I'm going to go in there and-"  
"You can't get in here. Dwellings are sacred. Remember what happened last time?" Fairies couldn't enter Mud Man homes without an invitation, last time Trouble and some others had tried they vomited, it was some sort of allergic reaction.  
"I remember," he growled.  
"So sit tight. I think Fowl's going to let me out when the sun goes down. I'll get away then. We'll meet halfway on the road, about ten klicks from Tara."  
"Okay."  
"So what's the situation underground?"  
"The way I've heard, the ambassador is looking for a neck to ring. I think he chose my brother's." Trouble laughed. "Grub, was with him the last time I checked anyway."  
"So, I'll meet you there. Don't forget to shield."  
  
"I'm not that stupid, Holly. You think I'm a goblin or something? Don't forget the anti-shield filters."  
"I won't. Someone's coming. I'll talk to you later. Try and get in touch with Foaly."  
Artemis Fowl entered the room. There was less than a half an hour 'til sundown. "Shall we get down to business?"  
"Business? The way I see it I'm a prisoner. Again. I thought you gave that up."  
"Oh, I did. You're not a prisoner. Just-"  
"Just a guest you're keeping locked up?"  
"Exactly. Now as to business, we agreed that I help you recover Commander Root and, what did you say the other one's name was?"  
"Aquarius."  
"Ah, yes. I help you find the Commander and Aquarius, you hand over Mister Diggums when you find him. I think it's fair. If you disagree I shall be happy to find a way to contact the Lower Elements and offer you in exchange for Diggums, or a thousand pounds of 24 karat gold; their choice of course."  
"You're bluffing."  
"Am I? People's lives hang in the balance; can you risk the possibility that I am telling the truth? Are you willing to gamble their lives on it?"  
Holly knew the answer and so did Artemis. She couldn't and wouldn't risk their lives. Holly's own father had died over twenty years ago, when she was barely sixty. Root had been sort of like a father figure since she started at the LEP. As for Aquarius, the poor kid, he didn't ask to get dragged into any of this. "I don't have a choice. It's a deal." Holly shook hands with Artemis. "You realize how ridiculous you look in those glasses, don't you?"  
Artemis glared at her, but of course she couldn't see him through the dark lenses. "I look less ridiculous than I would if I was subjected to the mesmer."  
"Butler and I will be back for you when the sun goes down. You'll get your toys back, but you're coming with us."  
Holly beckoned him closer with her finger.  
He leaned in to see what she wanted. That's when she ripped off his glasses and punched him in the nose with so much force that he went sprawling on the floor.  
She gave a satisfied grin and snapped the glasses in half. "That's for trying to take my helmet, this is locking me up down here and taking my gun. Nobody messes with Holly Short."  
Artemis tried to stand and compose himself. "I'll see you at sundown."  
Holly smirked; his nose was already starting to swell. Beating up pompous Mud Boys was so much fun.  
  
Artemis went to consult Butler, Butler usually intervened before punches landed so Artemis did not now know exactly what to do. He found Butler in his study.  
"Butler? What do I do about this?"  
Butler looked up at him and Artemis could have sworn that Butler thought the situation was comical.  
"Now how did that happen?"  
"I went to go talk things over with Captain Short."  
Butler had to hand it to the elf, she had spirit.  
"So what do I do about this?" Artemis pointed to his nose.  
"Come down to this kitchen and we'll get some ice on it. The guests are gone. Your parents are at a cocktail party; they'll be back late."  
"Good." Artemis followed Butler downstairs. Juliet was in the kitchen.  
She laughed as soon as she saw Artemis. "What happened to you? Did you get beat up by the fairy?"  
Artemis glowered at her.  
Juliet giggled.  
Butler looked at his sister and said, "Get him some ice, sis."  
"Oh, alright."  
Butler and Artemis sat at the table.  
"We are going to release Captain Short's weaponry to her, though I daresay she's dangerous enough without it, we will drive back along the road we were on this morning until we reach that well and we'll go in the direction of our last lead. It's that simple."  
"As simple as all that?" Butler handed him the ice.  
"Yes."  
"If you say so. Sundown is in 6 minutes. I suggest we get moving. I'll go get the weapons."  
"Fetch some helmets too. I'll get Captain Short."  
Butler told him, "You keep that ice on."  
Juliet looked over. "Can I come, Arty?"  
"No, Juliet. This is dangerous. Stay here. We're going to go rescue some hostages."  
"I want to come."  
"No."  
"You're not nice."  
Artemis left, still clutching the ice to his nose. That girl was irritating sometimes. He entered the cell in the basement.  
"Holly? The sun is down. We should be leaving."  
Holly burst out laughing at the sight of Fowl. He didn't look quite as composed as he usually did. "What's the matter, did you get beat up by a fairy?"  
"Captain Short, it is after sunset and we'd best not waste time if we want to help your friends."  
Holly straightened up. "You're right. This is no time for games. Get outta here, I'll be along in a minute."  
Artemis raised his eyebrow slightly, indicating that he wished to know why.  
"I want to talk to somebody. Now, out!" She made as if to punch him again and he exited quickly. Holly turned on her helmet. "Foaly? Foaly, come in."  
"I'm here, Holly. What is it? Did you talk to Kelp, is everything okay?"  
"Everything's fine. He should be traveling to the destination you set shortly."  
"Good. I'm preparing to exit Fowl manor now."  
"We hope to see you below ground again shortly with Root and Aquarius."  
"Thanks for the support. Over and out." She left the room, Fowl and Butler were by the front door; Butler was heavily armed with Mud Man and fairy weaponry, Artemis had a fairy helmet was holding Holly's wings and weapons.  
The three walked out to the car, leaving an angry Juliet muttering to herself in the kitchen. Butler sat in the front seat of the Bentley, Artemis in the passenger's seat, and Holly in the back.  
Artemis looked back and noticed Holly pressing buttons on her helmet. "What are you up to?"  
"Trouble will be along this road, waiting."  
"I assure you, Captain, there won't be any trouble here."  
"I'm not talking about trouble as in difficulties, I mean Commander Trouble Kelp. Butler knows him better as the leader of Retrieval One."  
Butler grinned, they'd crossed swords (so to speak) once upon a time ago; it hadn't ended well for the Retrieval squad.  
"Oh."  
Holly stared out the window. Then she saw something that made her heart freeze. "Butler, stop the car, now." 


	11. Found at Last

Butler pulled over immediately.  
"What is it?" asked Artemis, adjusting his fairy helmet to the anti- shield filter. Then he saw what Holly saw.  
Holly opened the door and jumped out of the car. She ran to the tree. Bound to the tree was Commander Root. Weak from the sun's light on him all day he hung there limply. Even Butler saw; now Root's magic had completely run out and he was fully visible.  
"Commander! Commander, are you okay? Speak to me!"  
Root managed a slight groan, he thought he was delirious. "It can't be you, Holly, I'm dead."  
"You're not dead, Commander, but you will be if we don't get you help now." She spoke into her helmet. "Foaly! I found him. Root's been out in the sun all day. He's completely drained. He needs help." She switched channels before Foaly could respond. "Trouble! Where are you? I found Root and he needs back up. We're on the side of the road and he has no magic left. Respond."  
"I'll be there in a minute, Holly. I'm on my way. How bad off is he?"  
Holly thought Heal! And sent blue magic scurrying down her fingers and into Root. He had rope burns at his wrists and he was weak. "He's pretty bad. Not dead though. I'm healing him now."  
"Good. I see the Mud Man's car. I'm approaching now."  
"Butler, give me one of your knives."  
Butler obliged and handed one over.  
Holly proceeded to cut Root loose from the tree. She eased him on to the ground. Unzipping her tunic slightly she pulled out a chain around her neck, on it was a golden book, the fairy Bible, and a small vial of earth. She ripped the vial off the chain and broke it on the ground. She placed the acorn in Root's hand and made him dig into the ground and bury the acorn. She stepped back as the magic flew back to Root from the ground. The fairy ritual to renew magic demanded an acorn from an ancient oak near the bend in a river be buried far from where it was found. Foaly and Holly had come up with a sealed acorn unit for emergencies. The Council hadn't approved but Holly knew it was useful and used it anyway.  
Trouble landed near Holly, Root, Butler, and Artemis. "Is he any better?"  
"His powers are being restored, give him a minute. It's been a long day for him."  
Suddenly Root shot up, his eyes wide. "What's going on? When I get my hands on that goblin I'm going to." He rang an invisible neck. Then he noticed his company. "What's going on?"  
Artemis was the first to reply. "You were near death and Captain Short just saved your life."  
Holly heard Foaly's voice inside her helmet. "Tell Julius it's nice to see he's back to his old cheerful self."  
Holly grinned, "Commander, Foaly says it's nice to see you back to your old self."  
Root grunted.  
"Did I mention he called you 'Julius'?"  
"Tell that horse he's gonna get it when I get back underground." Only perhaps four fairies alive were allowed to call Root by his first name.  
"Will do, Commander."  
"Now, what's with the Mud-I mean humans?"  
"Well, sir, if it weren't for them none of us would be here."  
"Explain, Captain Short. We're burning moonlight."  
Butler stepped in, "Commander, there's a truck coming down the road. Best we all get in the car and continue the discussion there. The windows are tinted, no one can see in."  
"Right, soldier."  
Artemis went to the front seat while Butler assisted the fairies into getting in the backseat.  
"Continue, Captain."  
"When you failed to show up in the office and they placed Trouble in charge, I knew something was wrong. I came above ground to search for you and Aquarius."  
"Without orders?"  
"Yessir," Holly looked at her feet.  
"But I'm grateful. Continue."  
"I found-"  
"I came without orders, too," Trouble interrupted  
Root looked at the young officer, "Kelp, they put you in charge and you up and leave without orders? Disgraceful. Continue, please, Captain Short."  
"I found the humans loitering around E1."  
Butler was quick to come to Artemis's defense and interjected, "We were there because a certain Mulch Diggums broke into Fowl Manor. 


	12. Demands

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alrighty it's time to pray for my muse to kick in. Everything up to the last chapter was written months ago, before the Eternity Code came out. Ai. Now I'm afraid this chapter is short but my brain's kinda dying right now with an overload of schoolwork.  
  
"Diggums again!" growled Root. "How I'd like to get him behind bars once and for all."  
"In case she's forgotten I'd like to point out that we agreed to help find Aquarius and yourself, Commander, on the condition that I would get an opportunity to speak to Mister Diggums when he was captured."  
Root hesitated before saying firmly, "The agreement stands. But I don't know when you'll get your chance at him." He shook hands with Fowl to see the deal. "But Aquarius is the number one priority right now. Not the convict."  
"Holly!" Foaly's voice came suddenly on her helmet.  
"What is it, Foaly?"  
"Ransom note. I'll send you the video feed."  
Holly watched the short clip. She saw the bad guys standing around Aquarius, he didn't appear to be in any discomfort. The goblin did the speaking, "We want 1000 pounds of gold delivered at E1. Above the surface. Send no one out until you bring the gold. If you try anything funny we'll kill Aquarius. No weapons on the officers who bring the gold. Bring it by 9 o'clock tonight." His reptilian tongue darted out of his mouth to lick his eyeballs and the tape ended.  
"Good thing we're already here then. Just have to get to the spot and get them before they see us," said Holly. "Alright, Fowl, isn't this where you come in? Time for a plan. Do you have one?"  
"Yes. I believe I do." 


	13. The Plan

They walked into the electronics store, quite an oddball group. Butler was impressive as always, his seven foot muscular bulk, dark shades, and shaven head; Artemis was just as remarkable, there was something about the confidence he wore and the way he spoke and moved that just chilled you.  
Holly, though more than 80 years old, still looked quite young and with her short height could be mistaken for a human child, so she walked beside Artemis dressed in human clothes.  
Trouble was about the same age as Holly and the same applied for him. So long as they both wore hats.  
Root was a little more suspicious, there were humans as short as him but it would still draw attention has he didn't look young enough to pass for a child. So he walked, shielded.  
"Alright, Fowl," said Holly. "Time to go shopping."  
They walked around, gathering the things they needed. As they reached the register Holly added five walkie-talkies on top of everything else.  
"Hello, Mister Fowl. This all for the evening?"  
"Yes."  
"What are you planning? Some sort of hunt?"  
"Yes. It's a game, having a little party at the Manor." He handed the man a large quantity of cash, no doubt money he'd gotten from selling the gold he'd stolen from the LEP.  
"Have a nice time."  
"We will. Grab the bag, Butler."  
  
By 8:30 they were positioned and hidden around the already waiting kidnappers and Aquarius.  
Trouble spoke to Holly through the walkie-talkies. "Go over the plan again and explain why we don't just attack them now." He was the LEP's most gung-ho officer and he wanted to clobber the bad guys as usual.  
"Because, we're waiting for back up. We wait here. LEP comes in with half the ransom money. While they've got the goblin and the elf distracted, we come in and surround them so they can't escape. Between you, me, Root, and that man mountain we should be able to manage to recapture Aquarius and apprehend the felons. Then the other officers can help us escort Aquarius back to his father."  
"What about the Mud Boy?"  
"Him? He's going to sit in his car and monitor the cameras we've set up around the to be sure nobody escapes. He's not much use at anything else."  
"Captain Kelp! Captain Short!" Roots voice barked. "Be quiet, fifteen minutes 'til go time."  
"Fairies, you're speaking Gnomish again, no doubt to purposely leave me out of the conversation but I'd like to remind you to be quiet. The goblin and elf are already here with the hostage, though unless you've gone blind I'm sure you know this. A quarter hour is all we have left. Are you ready, Butler?"  
"Yes, Artemis." Butler checked that all weaponry, human fairy, was in place.  
They watched with the anticipation and calm of seasoned soldiers. Trouble took the safety off his gun and smiled, hoping he'd have a chance to use it. Root watched everything. The goblin was standing guard over Aquarius. Holly's face was grim. According to the plan this was going to be easy, but in her experience nothing was ever easy. Butler triple-checked his weapons and the anti-shield filters on his eyes; it wouldn't do any good if he couldn't see his adversaries. Fowl sat in the Bentley watching the monitors they'd bought over steepled-fingers. 


	14. Rescue

9 o'clock sharp the LEP officers arrived with the gold they'd promised to bring: half the ransom. They were apparently unarmed. They began to bring the bricks over, one by one. Holly knew her job was to get the hostage away from the goblin in case a clear shot was needed at the goblin. They couldn't chance shooting the kid. Holly peered down between the branches. She was only going to have one shot at this. Aquarius was sitting eating his Squid Snaps contentedly, not realizing that the goblin behind him, was pointing a lethal weapon at him; few fairy weapons were lethal. Holly waited for the signal from Artemis.  
Artemis activated the remote control car and drove it repeatedly into the bush that was covering it.  
Cronus was too distracted watching the gold to pay any attention to it but the goblin turned around, taking his eyes off Aquarius to see if someone was sneaking up from behind him.  
Holly made her moved she dived down out of the tree and picked up Aquarius, snacks and all, and pulled out of her dive inches from the ground. But she wasn't fast enough. Seeing nothing, the goblin had turned his eyes back to the prisoner only to see him vanish into a tree with Captain Short.  
But Trouble was right on cue and while the goblin was still distracted by Aquarius's vanishing, Trouble rolled in behind him and as he came into a crouching position from his roll he smacked him with the buzz baton and gave him a quick blast from the Neutrino. He'd set it a little high but nobody would complain if the idiot lost a few brain cells.  
He put the cuffs on as quietly as he could but by now Cronus had realized something was up.  
Fortunately Root was in his element and had come up behind him. He aimed a spare Neutrino they'd found at Fowl's at the elf. Naturally the elf struck out at Root, attempting to knock the weapon from his grasp and run the other way. Unfortunately the other way was blocked by something resembling a large breathing mountain. This mountain was known by the name: Butler.  
Butler quickly disarmed him. He held him by his feet at arms length, letting the blood rush to his head for a while.  
Holly meanwhile had immediately flown Aquarius to the safety of the Bentley. "Watch him, Fowl. You're on babysitting duty." She'd shut the door and ran back to see if there was a piece of the action left for her.  
The boys had had all the fun. Things never went this smoothly. It was like a rule of the job, if things actually worked according to plan then there was something you didn't know.  
But everything seemed to have worked perfectly. They had Aquarius, safe and whole. Root was still fully intact and now venting some of his anger on Cronus. And Trouble gave the goblin a few swats with his buzz baton when he thought nobody was looking.  
"Turn him right side up, Butler," Holly said reluctantly, there would of course be a tribunal and they weren't supposed to treat civilians this way. She put the cuffs on Cronus and handed him off to one of the junior officers. "Take him, Private Kelp."  
"Yessir, Captain Short."  
Holly glared at him and raised her voice. "Somebody take that goblin away from Trouble before he does serious damage."  
Somebody piped up, "Goblin can't do anything now."  
Holly rolled her eyes. "I meant before Captain Kelp causes him serious damage." She and Root went over to the car to get Aquarius. Holly chuckled with amusement, wondering how Artemis was putting up with the little chatterbox.  
"Captain, he doesn't stop running his mouth off." Artemis seemed slightly amused as he said this.  
"Kids are like that. Not that you'd know," said Holly.  
Butler had come over, "After all, Artemis, you aren't the average child."  
"I've never been the average child."  
Root asked, "Speaking of child, where do your parents think you are?"  
"I'll just tell them I've been out, playing with my friends."  
"Don't you think the shock of you saying you have friends might kill them?"  
Artemis seemed as though he was about to say something sharp but changed his mind and gave a small sigh instead. "It would surprise them. Speaking of children, I have to return to St. Bartleby's for school in the morning. Good evening. Contact me as soon as you capture Diggums."  
"We will. A fairy keeps a deal."  
"So do I," Artemis said. "Now I do at least. May not two years ago, but now." his voice trailed off. "Goodbye, Commander Root, Captain Kelp. It's been.a pleasure. Holly, I mean Captain Short, it's been good to see you again. Come, Butler."  
Butler nodded to the fairies and entered the driver's side of the car.  
Holly gripped Aquarius's hand as the car sped away.  
Aquarius asked in a small voice, "Where's my daddy?"  
Trouble picked him up in a brotherly fashion and put him over his shoulder. "Come on, kid. We're going to take you home."  
Holly had to admit it, no matter what else he was, Trouble was a good brother (even though he wasn't actually related to Aquarius he was being like a good brother to him). 


	15. Return

Holly watched with amusement. Trouble didn't let Aquarius out of his sight once. He was always either on his shoulder, or in his lap, or holding his hand. Trouble talked to him in a quiet, comforting way.  
Holly wanted to just lean back in her chair and close her eyes for some much needed rest, but she was the best pilot and so she sat the controls. They were on the shuttle back underground, hurtling down below the earth's surface. She listened lazily as Root briefed Foaly on everything that had happened through the mikes. Grub Kelp rode in the shuttle with them but the rest of Retrieval, as well as the gold, was coming in the next shuttle.  
The Ambassador was relieved to take back his son once they got back to the police plaza. But Aquarius didn't want to leave Trouble. So Holly and Trouble got commissioned to escort Aquarius and his father back to Atlantis.  
Holly found herself missing Aquarius's chatter when they went back to Haven alone.  
  
Read and Review and I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I can! 


	16. Waiting

^^^^^^^^^^^THREE MONTHS LATER^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Mulch decided it was time to venture back underground again. As long as he stayed away from the Police Plaza and anybody he owed money to he'd be fine. * * * * *  
Artemis was restless. School was the usual bore; he already knew everything and toppling companies was getting easier every day. Especially the American ones, he'd have Chit-Chat Mobile down in a matter of days. When were they going to catch Diggums? He hoped the fairies weren't going to slight him and not give him a chance to speak with the convict. That was a possibility, they may have already caught Diggums and not told him.  
Not likely, he decided. The People, unlike most humans, kept their word. So he waited. * * * * *  
Holly was restless. There'd been no major cases since the incident with the Ambassador's son. Only minor things. Mulch Diggums was still on the loose, however they'd had reports that he'd been spotted back underground. However, nothing could catch a dwarf in his tunnel. 


	17. Capture Part 1: Planning

^^^^^^^^^^^^5 MONTHS LATER^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Foaly called Holly's house, she'd want a piece of this. "Hey, Holls?"  
"Yeah, Foaly? What is it?"  
"I know you're off duty but we've got a hot tip on Mulch and I figured you'd want to be the first to know."  
"Gimme ten minutes to get dressed and I'll be down at the station." She sat up and immediately started looking for something to wear.  
"I knew you'd want to know. Wear your civvies, probably going in undercover. But bring your gun. Whaddaya say, Holly? Do we tell Root?"  
"He on duty?" she asked, trying to find her shoes.  
"No."  
"Then why not? If we're not on the job then we can't be called to account if we've got to take him on a little side trip first."  
"I nearly forgot about that, Holly. Are you still going to go through with it and take him to the Mud Boy?"  
She picked up her gun. "A fairy keeps her word, Foaly. At least, elves do, and Root and I are elves. I know you aren't an elf, centaur, but you are a fairy. Act like it."  
"Right. You given any thought on how to get in contact with the Mud Boy once you catch Diggums?"  
She stopped, "No. Hadn't thought of that."  
"He lives at that school of his doesn't he?"  
"Yeah."  
"So leave him a note in his dormitory."  
"But."  
"In Gnomish."  
"Right! Sounds good. And then he can call up the Mud Man and arrange transportation to where we'll meet. I'm walking out the door now. Call Root."  
"Can do. I'll give Julius a ring right now."  
Holly grinned and hung up, she'd love to see Root's face if Foaly started calling him Julius. She walked out. * * * * * * *  
Foaly hung up from talking to Holly and called Root on his home number. "Hello, Commander."  
"What is it, horse?"  
"Easy, Julius, I've got a hot tip on a certain convict."  
"I'm off-duty."  
"It's a certain dwarf."  
"Diggums? I'll be at the station in 15 minutes."  
"Wear your civvies, Commander. I think you and Captain Short are going in undercover."  
"Alright."  
"Are you going to keep your word to the Mud Boy?"  
"I've got to. I made a deal, Foaly, and LEP officers do not break deals."  
"Alright then. See you in fifteen minutes, Julius." He nearly giggled, antagonizing Root would always be the best part of his job.  
Root arrived just after Holly.  
"Alright. Here. Imported Mud Man technology being sold illegally in sector 7 on the outskirts of Haven. Plan is that the two of your send a call to where Mulch has set up shop, got himself a cell phone for the business. You call, disguised voices, saying you want 2 DVD players, some DVDs, and a few pairs of designer sunglasses or a book. You arrange a meeting as soon as possible. Tonight. You head down there. Borrow my car, Mulch doesn't recognize it. He might not want to see you on such short notice so be sure to be willing to give him a good deal for the merchandise."  
"Anything else?" growled Root.  
"Yeah. Let Holly make the call. I don't trust you not to say you want to strangle him."  
Holly thought he had a point there but instead she just said, "My voice will be harder for him to recognize, Commander. You've arrested him more times than I have."  
"True. Where's the number?"  
Foaly dialed and passed the phone to Holly.  
"Hello, who is this?" It was Mulch's voice.  
Holly made her voice a little higher than normal. "For now let's just say I'm a customer. I'm interested in buying some of your merchandise. I hear you sell stuff from the surface?"  
"That depends on who's asking?"  
"My name's Kerri. Me and my friend James are interested."  
"What specifically?"  
"A DVD player. Some DVDs to play on it. What do you think, James? The Wizard of Oz and maybe the Fellowship of the Ring?" Holly was talking to Root but she made sure her voice was loud enough for Mulch to hear. "Okay, James. Wizard of Oz and Fellowship of the Ring it is, Mister.? What did you say your name was?"  
"I didn't say. Anything else?"  
"How about one of those Harry Potter books the Mud People seem so crazy about?"  
"Which book?" He ran through the list.  
"How about the first one? I'll come back to you if I want the next one. How much gold are we talking about here?"  
He told her.  
"That's a little pricey."  
"Well it's a little dangerous on me going back and forward to the surface. Gotta take that into the price."  
"I suppose. But how about lowering just a little?"  
"No deal."  
"I'll take my business elsewhere then."  
"Alright. Alright. 10% off. No more."  
"Make it 12."  
"12!"  
"Yeah."  
"Fine, twelve."  
"Where am I going to meet you?"  
He gave a place entirely different from that which Foaly had mentioned, but still on the edge of the Haven.  
"That's kinda far."  
"You don't want to get caught by the LEP anymore than I do. Are you coming or not?"  
"Yeah. I'm coming. Can we make it tonight?"  
"I guess so. The things are all in stock."  
"What time?"  
"9."  
"Alright. We'll be there."  
"Good."  
Holly hung up. "It's all set. 9 tonight." She gave them the meeting place.  
"Too risky to send the two of you in wired so I'm just going to use the iris cams. You've got about an hour to get there. Hazel, right, Holly?" He trotted over to little glass vials containing the iris cams.  
"That's right," she said.  
"Okay," inserted what looked like contact lens into her eye. "You do have nice eyes, Holly."  
Root came over. "He's right."  
"Thanks."  
"I didn't mean it as a complement. I mean of course it was a complement, but how are we going to keep Mulch from recognizing you? Or recognizing me?"  
"I've got just the thing," said Foaly. "I've been wanting to try these out." He took what looked like a rubber face off one of the counters. "Put this on, Holly. It just goes on over your face. It's a modified memory latex."  
Holly eyed it doubtfully but put it on, it molded to her face.  
Foaly brought her a mirror.  
"Impressive." It was. It was completely molded to her face, impossible to tell that she was wearing it, but at the same time it was a completely different face, except for the eyes peering out. She looked quite young, apparently someone just out of school or possibly still finishing.  
"What about me?" asked Root.  
"I've got another one." Foaly trotted back to the counter and brought out a similar mask. "Put this on."  
Root did as he was instructed. The mask molded itself to his face and Holly laughed. Root's mask made him look to be nearly the same age as Holly's mask made her look; and for somebody who'd had his LEP training nearly 5 centuries ago that was saying something. Holly was only in her early 80s.  
"Let me see that mirror," he growled. He saw. "I look younger than Holly really is! And I don't look like me at all!"  
"That's the point, sir," Holly said.  
"Speaking of which, Holly, do you have anything to wear that isn't, well, you?" asked Foaly.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean what you're wearing doesn't suit your face right now."  
"I guess not." Holly examined her clothes. She was wearing slacks and a sweater but this face belonged in.other clothes. It was the face of a hip, trendy, young person. Very not Holly. Very not Holly's clothes. "I've got something that I bought as a costume a few years ago. But what are you going to do, Commander?"  
"I'll find something," he growled.  
Foaly got a sudden light in his eyes. "Make sure it's sleeveless, Commander."  
"Why?"  
"Because you're getting a tattoo."  
"Are you out of your mind, pony?"  
"It's not a real tattoo but if your clothes aren't exactly the part a tattoo will help make things more convincing. Holly, are your ears pierced?"  
"Don't even think about it, Foaly,"  
  
she made her voice as dangerous as possible. "I've got some clip-on hoops though."  
"Okay. Perfect. We've got about two hours before you have to be there. Go find something to wear."  
"Wait a second. Help me take the iris cam out first, Foaly."  
He put it back in its vial.  
"Both of you be sure not to take off your masks. Those are proto- types. I told you it's like the memory latex, so it's one time use only."  
"Got it." Holly left and went back home. She had to dig through everything in her closet before she found what she was looking for. She even found a nice wig of long blonde hair. She put it and the outfit on and then began to put on her makeup. She never wore makeup but to fit tonight's part, she put it on. It took some doing but she found the earrings at last and the shoes she needed. They were a little hard to walk in but it was the only thing that would work with this outfit. She stood and eyed herself critically in the mirror. Her own mother wouldn't have recognized her. She left for the Police Plaza.  
When she got inside the police plaza it looked nearly deserted, for which she was thankful. Unfortunately it was the "nearly" part that was the problem.  
"Hey, beautiful, how are you doing?"  
She made sure to alter her voice when she responded, "Private Verbil, I suggest you vacate my line of vision immediately before I sock you."  
"How'd you know my name? Have I seen you before?"  
"No. It says so on your badge. Don't you have work to do? I'd hate to think my tax dollars went for nothing."  
He shuffled off.  
She was nearly to the Ops Room when she saw Trouble. It was just her luck that he saw her too.  
"Hello. I don't think I've seen you here before."  
"No, you haven't."  
"Are you new here? Lost maybe?"  
"No, no. Just visiting a friend."  
"Oh, who?"  
"He works in the Ops Rooms." She emphasized the "he" hoping to put him off. It didn't work.  
"Oh, well I'll be glad to show you the way." He was standing a little closer to her than she would have liked.  
"How very sweet. But I can find it myself."  
"No, really it's no trouble. But I am."  
"What?"  
"My name. Captain Trouble Kelp. Have you heard of me?"  
She decided to give him a hard time. "Yes! Weren't you the one leading the Retrieval Squad when that one Mud Man took out the entire squad?"  
He blushed. "Yes, that was me. He was seven feet tall though. The only Mud Man to ever take on a troll and win, you know."  
"I heard."  
They were nearing the Ops Room. "You're awfully pretty. My shift ends in about twenty minutes. I know it's late but do you want to go grab a bite to eat?"  
"I'm not hungry."  
"We could go for a walk."  
"I don't think so."  
They were at the door now. There was no one around but her and Trouble. She abandoned caution and used her regular voice. She pressed the intercom, "Foaly, let me in now."  
"Can do."  
Trouble paled and glanced at Holly head to toe. He gulped. "Holly?"  
"Yeah, it's me."  
"You.you look."  
"Different?"  
"You can say that again!"  
"Yeah. I look different."  
"Oh my gods. I'm sorry." He banged the heel of his hand against his forehead. Holly heard him mutter, "I can't believe I was hitting on Holly!" repeatedly.  
"It's okay, Troubs. If you didn't recognize me it means Mulch isn't going to recognize me either."  
"Mulch? Nobody knows where he is."  
"I do. Going undercover to arrest him tonight."  
"You can't go by yourself. You aren't even on-duty tonight."  
She saw Root approaching behind Trouble. "Oh, I'm not going alone."  
"Your not?"  
"No, he's coming with me."  
Root tapped Trouble on the shoulder and glared at him.  
"I'm sorry, who are you?"  
"Captain, get your butt back to work!" he growled.  
"Commander?" his face was even paler.  
"That's right."  
"But your face. Holly's face. Holly's clothes." Trouble seemed to be having difficulty forming sentences.  
"Yes. How was it your said I looked?"  
"Holly, believe me if I'd known it was you I swear I wouldn't have said anything!"  
She shook her head and laughed soundlessly. "Let's go in." They entered the Ops Room. Foaly was fiddling with some wires and didn't see them. "Foaly, did you know LEP is full of pigs?"  
"Really?" he didn't turn around.  
"I'm here two minutes and two of the male officers start hitting on me."  
"Really? Let me see what you're wearing." He finally turned around. He blinked several times. "Holly? Is that you?"  
She made her voice high again, "My name's Kerri. Do you want to go to dinner tonight?"  
"Holly, y-you did a really good job finding an outfit for this. I'm stunned."  
"Gimme a mirror." She took a look at herself in the mirror again. She was wearing a halter-top, a pink mini-skirt, and pink sandals. With the mask on her face and the blonde wig she was completely unrecognizable as Captain Holly Short. Captain Holly Short would never dress like this. She grinned. "Alright wears that iris cam?"  
Foaly went and fetched it for her.  
Meanwhile, Holly turned to give Root a critical glance. He'd done pretty well. The pants didn't look too old fashioned and the sleeveless shirt went pretty well with it.  
Foaly put a hazel iris cam in Holly's eye and then took a felt marker to Root's arm. It looked pretty convincing. He put a mud colored iris cam in Root's eye.  
"I'll give you a Neutrino and a buzz baton to share. He might check for weapons and you've got a better chance of hiding them if you don't have too many. If you want you can take one of those finger shooters."  
"The one where you brush it with your thumb against you knuckle?" asked Root.  
"Yeah. And take a pair of handcuffs. Take a pair for his ankles too."  
"All right," said Root.  
"Wait, where am I going to put any weapons?" Holly looked down at her clothes. She could exactly hide anything anywhere.  
"Root gets the baton and the gun. He can hide them better. You can have the finger dart. You only get one shot."  
  
"Alright," she grumbled. "But I want to hit Mulch with that baton!"  
"I think you're ready to go. Trouble, do they look anything like.well, themselves?"  
"Commander Root doesn't look like himself at all. And Holly definitely doesn't look like herself in the least bit," Trouble said.  
"Is that supposed to be a complement?" asked Holly, a wry grin on her face.  
"No, um, yes, uh, no. No, definitely no."  
She laughed. "Come on, James, we're going to be late. Give me your keys, Foaly."  
He tossed them to her. "Good luck."  
"Thanks. Don't need luck." They walked out.  
Foaly turned to Trouble, "You've got to admit, she looks good."  
"Yeah. I can't believe I've been working with her so long and I never realized it."  
"Well, maybe you should invite her to dinner."  
"I did. Tonight. She said no."  
"Maybe some time when she isn't dressed like that." Foaly shook his head, "Go on. Get back to work and don't breathe a word about this to anybody."  
"Got it." 


	18. Capture Part 2: Plan in Action

Chix Verbil was a Sprite who thought he was the gods gift to women, unfortunately for all the fairies he hit on, he wasn't. He often flirted with Holly and she dismissed him every time. Maybe he should move on to somebody else. That girl he'd seen tonight was awfully cute.  
"Hey, does anybody know a blonde who came in here tonight?" asked Chix.  
"A blonde? I haven't seen any girls," said one of the elves in the room.  
"Me neither. Where is she?"  
"I don't know. She was near the Ops room. A cute thing. Can you believe she didn't want to go out with me?"  
The men all laughed. "Who'd ever believe that?" It was well known that nobody wanted to date Chix.  
"Yeah, but the way she told me off kinda reminded me of Holly."  
Trouble came in. "What about Holly?"  
"No. This girl turned down my generous offer for a date tonight and the way she talked kinda reminded me of Holly."  
"That's ridiculous."  
"Why you say that?"  
"What'd she look like?"  
"Blonde, long hair, pretty young, in this little outfit."  
"That sounds nothing like Holly," said Trouble, heartily.  
"Yeah. Short wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like that," said one of the other men.  
"I know, but I swear, something about her was awfully familiar."  
"Probably just your imagination."  
"Still."  
Trouble was now thoroughly irratated. "Look, Holly wouldn't wear anything like that anymore than Root would.go and get a tattoo! It wasn't Holly. Trust me."  
"How do you know?"  
"It's her night off. Besides, I saw the blonde near the Ops Room too. It wasn't her."  
Trouble was very grateful when somebody changed the subject. * * * * * * * * * *  
Holly and Root stepped out of the vehicle and saw Mulch waiting where he'd said he'd be.  
"Good, you're here, Kerri, James."  
"You got the stuff?"  
"Yeah. Did you bring the gold?"  
"Yeah." Holly took some gold out of her purse.  
  
She handed it to him.  
"This is only half." Mulch frowned.  
"You'll get the other half when we get our DVDs."  
"Alright." He walked a little bit away and began digging. After about a minute he came back with the stuff. "Here." He dumped all of it in her arms. "The gold?"  
"Just a minute," said Holly.  
Root walked over behind Mulch and grabbed both his wrists. "You're under arrest convict," he growled.  
Holly took the cuffs out of her purse and slapped them on Mulch. She went back to using her regular voice, "Did you really think we weren't going to find you?"  
Mulch's eyes nearly left the sockets. "HOLLY? Is that you?"  
"Yeah. It's me. And Root's standing behind you."  
"Julius, you don't look anything like yourself."  
"Knock it off convict. You're taking a little trip to the surface with us." * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
The trip to the surface was uneventful. Holly flew the shuttle and Root kept threatening Mulch and describing a nice cell and some goblins for roommates. Goblins and dwarfs were the worst of enemies.  
Once on the surface, the made their way to St. Bartleby's. They used a pay phone to call the school and say that Artemis's cousins Holly and Julius wouldn't be waiting just outside the school to speak with him. They mentioned that it was urgent. They'd only been outside the school a matter of minutes when Fowl showed up.  
"Captain Short? Commander Root? I assume it was you who left the message for me."  
Root and Holly unshielded. Mulch was between them, still handcuffed.  
"Ah. You've brought him."  
"Yes. We keep our word."  
He looked at them more clearly. "Captain? Commander? You don't look at all like yourselves, though I must admit anytime I've seen you you've been in your uniforms."  
"We had to work undercover tonight. And Foaly provided us with these masks."  
"Fowl, call Butler. We need to go somewhere private."  
Butler reached the school within twenty minutes and took them to a deserted parking lot near Tara (they'd left the shuttle at Tara). 


	19. The Meeting

The five of them sat in the Bentley.  
"I was hoping to speak to Mister Diggums alone," said Artemis.  
"Fat chance. We've still got to take him into the station and check him into a cell. He'll be there at least 50 years, Fowl, so don't make any plans with him."  
"I merely wanted to ask him questions." He and Mulch had a lengthy discussion about security and how to surpass different systems.  
"Moon's nearly gone and if the sun comes out this dwarf has a burn time of under 3 minutes, Fowl. Root and I aren't much better off. Besides, you have school tomorrow."  
"Quite right. At least allow us to give you a lift back to Tara." It wasn't really a question.  
The fairies left the car at E1. Fowl raised his eyebrow, "Holly, just how did your co-workers react to that.ensemble?"  
She'd removed her wig in the car because it was getting too hot, and she removed the mask. Her face needed to breathe. "They didn't know it was me."  
"But won't they know now? If I'm not mistaken you can't put that mask back on."  
"D'Arvit!" she swore quietly. "If anybody says anything I'll just have to smack them with this," she took the buzz baton from Root and smacked Artemis across the arm with it.  
"That smarts."  
Holly considered healing him but instead left him as he was. "Goodbye, Fowl. Bye, Butler."  
"Goodbye, Captain. Goodbye, Commander."  
"Isn't anyone going to say goodbye to me?" asked Mulch.  
"No," growled Root. "Fowl, your stolen watch will be returned to you when we find it. The LEP gear and gold, we're keeping."  
"Understandable." * * * * * * * * *  
Holly knew she could do nothing about her face now but she put the wig back on to hide her auburn crew cut.  
They entered the police plaza with Mulch walking between them.  
"We've come to turn-in wanted fugitive, Mulch Diggums," said Holly. The wig and mask were half stuck in her purse and she'd wiped the makeup off her face. Unfortunately she didn't have a chance to change clothes yet.  
"Name and rank?" asked the officer at the desk, not bothering to look up from his paperwork.  
"Captain Holly Short and Commander Julius Root."  
"It says here you weren't on-duty tonight. "  
"Well, you can't expect us to see him and not catch him just because we weren't on the clock," she said angrily.  
"All right all right, take it easy. Says here Mulch Diggums is wanted on several charges. Did you happen to catch him doing anything tonight?"  
"Selling illegal Mud Man technology."  
"Alright." He raised his voice and turned his head to call over his shoulder, "Kelp! Verbil! Come and show Diggums back to his cell."  
Trouble Kelp and Chix Verbil walked out from another room, coffee in hand.  
"All right. Who brought him in?" asked Chix.  
"Commander Root and Captain Short." The officer at the desk had returned to his work and didn't look at any of them.  
"Hey, gorgeous, how about--Holly! That can't be you." He gaped at her.  
"Sure it is. Just because all you've ever seen me wear is my uniform doesn't mean I don't have other clothes," she retorted. "And in case you're wondering, that blonde was me that you were hitting on earlier." She shoved Mulch toward them. "Lock him up. Give him a goblin for a roommate."  
"No!" cried Mulch.  
"Hey, if I had to go to this much trouble to catch you then you're definitely going to have some trouble," she growled and it was a fair imitation of Root.  
"Holly, you really can't walk home by yourself dressed like that. At least let me drive you," said Trouble.  
"I'll think about it." She turned away. "Commander, shouldn't we get back to Foaly?"  
"Right."  
They went back and Holly pounded on the door. "Let us in, Foaly!"  
"What's the magic word?"  
"Let us in or you're fired, horse!"  
"That's not very nice." Even through the intercom he sounded like he was pouting.  
"Tough luck."  
The door opened and they went in.  
"The masks worked perfectly," Holly handed her mask to the centaur and Root peeled his off his face and did the same.  
Foaly said, "I know. My inventions always work. Besides, I've been watching the video feed from the iris cams. Nobody recognized you."  
"Of course nobody recognized me. Think they would have acted like that if they had recognized me?" she asked, clearly irritated.  
"I guess not. Professional respect of course."  
"Thank you," she said coldly. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Foaly. I shouldn't snap at you. It's just that, none of the male officers get treated this way. I hate it."  
"I know. Look, you're the test case remember? You're paving the way for more future female officers. But unless you've got something else to wear, don't walk home by yourself."  
"You're right."  
"I'm leaving. I've got to get a little shut-eye before I come back in for work," said Root, who had been silent until now. He replaced the iris cam in its vial and Holly did the same with hers.  
"I'll see you in the morning, Foaly. You're not going to stay here all night are you?"  
"No. No, I'm just going to finish up something. I think I've got a wing-design that'll beat the Hummingbirds. Just a few bugs to work out first."  
"Alright. I better go before I fall asleep on my feet." She found Trouble waiting in the hall.  
"Holly, I've got my car, you aren't going to walk are you?"  
"No. My feet are killing me." She took off her sandals and held them in her hand instead.  
"Good. Then I'll drop you off." They got in his car and he let her out in front of her apartment. He hesitated, "Hey, Holly?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm sorry I was a jerk tonight, earlier I mean." "Forget it."  
"Chix too."  
"Can't do anything about him, he's always like that."  
"I never really realized how hard it's got to be for you to be so outnumbered like that by such jerks."  
"You get used to it." She thought silently, No, I'm never going to get used to it.  
"I just wanted to say that I'll try and get the guys to be nicer. You don't deserve to be treated like that."  
"Thanks, Trouble." She turned to leave.  
"Holly."  
"What?"  
"This is something I've kinda been wondering for a while." He took a deep breath before continuing "Holly, will you go out to dinner with me sometime?"  
She smiled. "I'll think about it." She turned around and went into her building and Trouble drove away. 


	20. The End

THE END  
  
Hey, that's the end. I'm a Trouble/Holly shipper I guess. But as I'm not really into angst or romance I decided it would be better ended there than to force you to read any of my feeble attempts at romance stories. Anyway there might be a sequel. I don't know. Do you think there should be?  
  
Anyway, you know the routine, Read and Review! ( 


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